A Teacher's Guide to Education Law - 3rd Edition

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A TEACHER'S GUIDE

TO EDUCATION LAW

Third Edition

This page intentionally left blank

A TEACHER'S GUIDE

TO EDUCATION LAW Third Edition

MICHAEL IMBER University of Kansas

TYLL VAN GEEL University of Rochester

2OO5

LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY LONDON

Director, Editorial: Executive Assistant: Cover Design: Textbook Production Manager: Composition: Text and Cover Printer:

Lane Akers Bonita D'Amil Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Paul Smolenski Clare Romeo Hamilton Printing Company

This book was typeset in 10/14 pt. Times, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic. The heads were typeset in Engraver's Gothic and Zapf Humanist.

Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 www.erlbaum.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Imber, Michael. A teacher's guide to education law / Michael Imber, Tyll van Geel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-4654-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Educational law and legislation—United States. 2. Teachers—Legal status, laws, etc.—United States. I. van Geel, Tyll. II. Title. KF4119.8.E3I48 2004 344.73'07—dc22 2004046946 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Michael Imber is Professor of Educational Policy and Administration in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. in education from Stan­ ford University in 1980. His is the author of many books, articles, and scholarly pre­ sentations on various topics of educational administration, policy, and law. Professor Imber has extensive experience advising school board members, educators, and lawyers on issues of educational policy and law and working with children and adults with disabilities. He has worked as a consultant to schools in Africa and Latin America and as the director of a school for at-risk students. Tyll van Geel is Taylor Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. He received his J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law and his Ed.D. degree from the Harvard Gradu­ ate School of Education. He is a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Professor van Geel's books include Authority to Control the School Program, The Courts and American Education Law, and Understanding Supreme Court Opinions (4th ed.). He is a contributor to a wide range of law and educational journals.

V

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We dedicate this book to our families: Jane, Molly, and Jake Imber Katy, Alix, and Tap van GeeI

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CONTENTS IN BRIEF

1

UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

2

CURRICULUM

15

3

STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

48

4

STUDENT DISCIPLINE

75

5

EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY: RACE AND GENDER

103

6

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

139

7

FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS OF TEACHERS

169

8

TEACHER EMPLOYMENT

211

9

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, UNIONS, AND TEACHER CONTRACTS

232

TORTS

255

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

295

TABLE OF CASES

299

INDEX

321

10

1

ix

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CONTENTS

PREFACE 1

UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW I I I I I I

2

.I .2 .3 .4 .5 .6

1

Forms of Law 1

The Courts and Education Law 5

The Judicial System 6

Elements of a Judicial Decision 8

Legal Citations 11

Summary 13

CURRICULUM 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 2. 7 2. 8

3

xv

15

Control of the Public School Program: An Overview 16

Statutory Limitations on School Board Control of Curriculum Objections to Religious Observances in Public Schools 20

Religious and Moral Objections to Course Content and Materials 27

Free Speech and Related Objections to Programs and Policies 31

Objections to Discriminatory Material 36

Federal Statutory Restrictions on School Programs 37

Summary 43

Notes 45

STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS 3.1 3. 2 3. 3 3. 4 3. 5

Freedom of Expression: An Overview 49

Independent Student Speech 52

School-Sponsored Speech 62

Off-Campus Speech 67

Freedom of Association and Use of School Facilities

19

48

68

xi

xii

CONTENTS

3.6

4

STUDENT DISCIPLINE 4.. II 4 4.. 2 4 4..3 3 4 4.

4. 4 4

4..5 5 4 4. 6 6 4.

5

Summary 71

Notes 72

The Making of Rules 76

The Useof Force to Control Students The Investigation of Misconduct 81 The Adjudication of Guilt 89 TheAssignment of Punishment 93 Summary 97 Notes 98

75

80

EQUAL EDUCATIONALOPPORTUNITY: RACE AND GENDER

103

55.. I

The Equal Protection Clause and Racial Discrimination 104

Historical Perspective: Equal Protection Prior to Brown v. Board of Education 105

5. 3 3 Racial Segregation 108

5. 5..4 Remedying De Jure Segregation 112 5 4 5.. 5 5 Other Forms of Racial Discrimination 117 5 5..6 Affirmative Action andVoluntary Racial Integration 118 5 6 5.. 7 7 The Equal Protection Clause and Gender Discrimination 123 5 5..8 8 Federal Antidiscrimination Statutes 126 5 5. 9 Racial and Sexual Harassment 129 5. 9 5.. 10

1 0 Summary 133 5 Notes 135

5.. 2 5

6

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 66.. I

6. 2 2 6. 6. 3 3 6. 6.

6. 4 4

6..5 5 6 6. 6 6 6.

7

FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS OF TEACHERS 77.. I

7. 6 6 7.

Political Activity and Noncurricular Speech 170

Academic Freedom and Curricular Speech 176 Privacy, Morality, and Lifestyle 180 Race, Ethnicity, and Gender 187 Religion 197 Disability 199

7. 7.7

Age 204

7.. 2 7 7..3 3 7 7..4 7 4 7. 5 7.

139

Historical Perspectives: The Education of Children with Disabilities 140

The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act 141

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 146

English Language Learners 160 Classification by Ageand Ability 163 Summary 164 Notes 165

169

xiii 7. 7.88

8

TEACHER EMPLOYMENT 8.1

8. I 8. 8.22 8. 8.33 8.44 8. 8. 8.55 8. 8.66 8. 8.77 8. 8.88 8. 8.99

9

211

Eligibility for Employment 211 Assignment, Transfer, and Demotion 213

Probationary Teachers: Evaluation, Renewal, and Tenure 213

Dismissal for Cause 214

Procedural Due Process 220

Reduction in Force 224

Leaves of Absence 225

Workers' Compensation 225

Summary 227

Notes 228

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, UNIONS, AND TEACHER CONTRACTS 9. 9. II 9. 9.22 9. 9.33 9. 9.44 9. 9.55 9. 9.66 9. 9.77

10

Summary 205

Notes 206

Collective Bargaining for Teachers: An Overview Rights of Union Members 236

Rights of Nonunion Members 239

Rights and Duties in Collective Bargaining 242

Grievance Procedures 244

Individual Teacher Contracts 245

Summary 251

Notes 252

232

TORTS 10.1 10. I 10.22 10. 10. 33 10.

10. 44 10. 10. 55 10. 10. 66 10. 10. 10. 77 10. 88 10. 10. 99 10. 10.10 10. 10

232

255

Intentional Torts: Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment, and Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress 256

Defamation and Employee Letters of Reference 259

Invasion of Privacy, Student Records, and the Duty to Report Child Abuse 264

Negligence 267

Negligent Hiring and Vicarious Liability 275

Liability for Dangerous Buildings and Grounds 278

Educational Malpractice 281

Governmental Immunity and Statutes Affecting Tort Suits 281

Section 1983 and Tortious Violations of Federal Law 283

Summary 288 Notes 290

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

295

TABLE OF CASES

299

INDEX

321

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PREFACE

Many aspects of the law of education have changed during the ten years since the first edi­ tion of A Teacher's Guide to Education Law was published. This third edition has been ex­ tensively updated and revised to reflect the changes, but its goal remains the same: to pro­ vide public school teachers with the legal knowledge necessary to do their jobs. The text is organized to reflect the variety of legal problems that elementary and secondary school teachers actually face. The focus is on the law relating to students, teachers, and school programs. The greater the likelihood of litigation, legal contro­ versy, or error in a particular area of professional practice, the more extensive the dis­ cussion. Topics that have been added or significantly expanded or revised in this edition include (among many others): the No Child Left Behind Act, student rights es­ pecially in the areas of free speech and search and seizure, employment discrimina­ tion, racial and sexual harassment of students and school employees, affirmative action and voluntary school integration, issues relating to the use of the Internet, school investigation and surveillance of teachers and other employees, and the law re­ lating to special student populations. Every effort has been made to make the book comprehensible to readers with little or no background in law. The text is written in a style that teacher should find familiar. When technical legal terms are used, their meaning is explained. Discussions of partic­ ularly complex topics begin with an overview, and subsequent sections provide addi­ tional detail. The last section of each chapter provides a summary of the most significant topics and principles discussed. The first chapter is devoted to providing a foundation for understanding the remainder of the book, including a thorough explana­ tion of the system of legal citations employed. One of the difficulties of producing a comprehensive treatment of education law de­ signed for teachers throughout the United States is that legal principles and interpreta­ tions can vary significantly from state to state. No attempt has been made to review the laws of each state exhaustively. Rather, the text focuses on generally applicable princi­ ples, noting areas where the specifics of state law vary. In these areas, readers may want to supplement the material presented with statutes and cases from their own state. xv

xvi

PREFACE

One final word of caution. Anyone who expects unambiguous answers to all legal questions is in for disappointment. Some legal issues are well settled, and they are pre­ sented as such. However, by its very nature, the law is often complex and uncertain. New issues and new perspectives on old issues arise continually; questions that once seemed settled are reexamined as notions about government and law evolve. Even ex­ perts often cannot agree on the application of a legal principle to a particular situation. Thus, in some instances, we can only pose issues and present a range of less-than-deflnitive answers for contemplation. We hope you learn from and enjoy the book. —Michael Imber —Tyll van Geel

CHAPTER

1

UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

Teachers perform their duties within a network of laws—laws that both empower and constrain. The law provides the framework for the hiring and firing of teachers, the cre­ ation of contractual agreements between teachers and boards of education, and the de­ velopment of curricula that teachers are required to follow. The law gives teachers certain powers to control and discipline their students and, at the same time, obligates teachers to take certain steps to safeguard the well-being of the children in their charge. The law protects the free speech rights of both teachers and students; guarantees them procedural protections when they are disciplined or fired; and prohibits policies that wrongfully discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, disability, or reli­ gion. The law provides an orderly way for teachers, students, and others involved in education to seek a remedy when they believe the school has treated them unjustly. This chapter introduces the forms of law that affect the professional lives of teach­ ers, the role of the courts in making and interpreting education law, and the judicial systems of the federal government and the states. The chapter concludes by describing the elements of a court decision and explaining the standard system of legal citations used in this book and other sources of information about education law.

1.1

FORMS OF LAW

The network of education law is woven of constitutional provisions, statutes, regula­ tions, policies, and common law. These various forms of law are designed to comple­ ment one another, but at times they may conflict. To further complicate matters, rules of law originate at the federal and state levels and sometimes with local school boards. No wonder, then, that teachers are often unaware of or confused about their legal rights and obligations. 1

2

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

The Federal Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the fundamental law of the nation. The Con­ stitution establishes the three branches of the federal government—executive, legis­ lative, and judicial; describes the relationship among the three branches; forms the union of the states; dictates the relation between the federal government and the states; and provides for the protection of individual rights. The Constitution both le­ gitimates and limits the actions of government. It controls the relationship between the government and individual citizens but does not regulate interactions among pri­ vate persons. Thus, the Constitution regulates the actions of government-run public schools and the relationship between the government and private schools. However, except under certain unusual circumstances, the Constitution does not limit the ac­ tions of private schools or control the relationships between private schools and their students or employees. Although it mentions neither education nor schools, the Constitution has been in­ terpreted as empowering Congress to raise money for education and to adopt certain types of legislation affecting schools. However, the Tenth Amendment limits the federal role in governing education: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States re­ spectively, or to the people." Because the Constitution does not delegate to the United States or prohibit from the states the power to create and operate schools, the amendment allows states to perform these functions if they choose. The United States is one of the few countries without a centralized system of educational gover­ nance and policy making. The resulting system of state and local control of education complicates the study of education law because rules often vary from state to state and even within states. The remainder of the federal Constitution is relevant to education, nevertheless, in that no state education law, school district policy, or public school practice may be in­ consistent with any article or amendment to the Constitution. Many of the important legal conflicts in education involve statutes, policies, or practices alleged to violate constitutional provisions. Most often cited in those allegations are those constitutional provisions that guarantee certain rights and freedoms of citizenship by limiting the power of the government to control individual behavior. These include the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure, and the Fourteenth Amendment requirements that states not violate their citizens' rights to "due process" and "equal protection of the laws." Teachers may find themselves on either side of these conflicts. For example, teachers may be accused of violating the free speech or due process rights of their students, or they may believe that their own rights have been violated by their supervisors and employers. State Constitutions In keeping with the Tenth Amendment, the basic power to control education devolves upon the states. However, the U.S. Constitution does not require the states to exercise

FORMS OF LAW

3

this power, and for several decades following the adoption of the Constitution the states did not use their inherent authority. However, over time, the people of each state adopted a state constitution requiring their legislatures to establish a system of free public schooling for all children. Typically, state constitutions contain vague language stating that there shall be schools and other educational activities and describing in general terms the way schools shall be governed and funded or the purposes for which they shall exist. For ex­ ample, Article VIII, Section 1 of the Indiana Constitution states: Knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government; it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to en­ courage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improve­ ment; and to provide by law, for a general and uniform system of Common School, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.

In Indiana, as in all states, the state legislature is charged with establishing and main­ taining a system of free public schools. Many state constitutions also create state boards of education or state superintendencies, and a few give these agencies powers independent of the legislature. Most state constitutions contain provisions mirroring the federal Constitution, such as those prohibiting the establishment of religion and guaranteeing the equal protec­ tion of the laws. In fact, these state constitutional provisions may be more protective of individual rights than the U.S. Constitution. State constitutions may extend individual rights beyond those protected by the U.S. Constitution, but they may not contradict the U.S. Constitution or permit government practices that it prohibits. State and Federal Statutes The U.S. Congress and state legislatures execute their powers and duties through the enactment of statutes. Despite the Tenth Amendment, Congress can exercise great in­ fluence over schools by virtue of its ability to control the allocation of federal funds and by exercising its power to regulate interstate commerce. Federal statutes are par­ ticularly influential because, unlike state laws, they apply throughout the United States. Federal statutes must be consistent with the U.S. Constitution but are superior to all state law, including state constitutions. However, unlike state legislatures, Con­ gress historically has been reluctant to pass laws that regulate schools. In recent years, this reluctance has abated somewhat as Congress has attached many conditions to the use of federal funds and enacted general laws that apply to schools, including, for ex­ ample, laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and protecting individuals with disabilities in various ways. Nevertheless, the large majority of statutes controlling the operation of the public schools are enacted by state legislatures. State statutes may not contradict either their own state's constitution or any federal law. Although the specifics vary greatly, most state legislatures have enacted statutes that: • Dictate who may and who must attend school.

4

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

• Create local public school districts and boards and the means for their alteration and dissolution. • Designate the qualifications for public school teachers and educational adminis­ trators. • Describe the procedures that schools must follow when evaluating or terminating the employment of teachers. • Prescribe the curriculum that the public schools must offer. • Establish minimum requirements for high school graduation. • Create a system for raising and distributing funds for education. • Establish certain limited powers for schools to discipline students and employees. • Fix the selection process, duties, powers, and limitations of local boards of edu­ cation. • Regulate certain aspects of the program of private schools. • Delegate authority to regulate and oversee certain aspects of education to state agencies and officers. So, for example, teachers should examine relevant state statues to learn the procedures that their state legislature requires a board of education to follow before terminating their employment. In every state, the laws governing education are organized by topic and published either as an education code or as a section of the general laws of the state. Regulations

Regulations differ from both constitutions and statutes. Most regulations are created by public departments, agencies, or bureaus that in turn are created by statutes. Regula­ tions are designed to implement the goals and fill in the details of legislation. A regula­ tion must meet three requirements: it must have been adopted according to a procedure prescribed in a statute, its substance must be consistent with the statute the regulation is intended to implement, and the statute itself must be constitutional. Many of the specifics of education law are found in regulations issued by state de­ partments of education, the U.S. Department of Education or its predecessors, and other state and federal agencies. For example, most of the rules governing the treat­ ment of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (see chap. 6) are contained in regulations created by the Department of Education. States also have extensive sets of regulations that provide further specifics concerning the required treatment of pupils with disabilities. Teachers are as legally bound by these regulations as by the statute itself. Common Law

Constitutions are adopted by the people, statutes by legislatures, regulations by agencies, and the common law is created by courts. Hence, in common law cases, courts invent the relevant legal rules and apply them to the case at hand. By contrast, in constitutional and statutory cases, the court is only interpreting and applying laws created by another authority.

THE COURTS AND EDUCATION LAW

5

As it originally came to the United States from Great Britain the common law had two main branches: civil and criminal. Today in the United States the criminal branch has for the most part been superseded by statutes. For educators, the civil branch of the common law is the more important. This branch is divided into contracts and torts. Contract law establishes the conditions under which an exchange of promises creates binding obligations (see chap. 9). Tort law deals with a variety of matters including negligent behavior that results in an injury, intentional injuries, libel and slander, and injuries resulting from defects in buildings or land (see chap. 10). Each state has its own system of common law with some mostly minor variations among the states. School Board Policies

Subject to the scope of authority delegated to them by the state legislature, school boards may issue their own rules and regulations. All of their enactments must con­ form to the limitations of relevant constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, and common law. When a school board acts in accordance with these requirements, its own rules and regulations are binding on itself. For example, if a board adopts a set of proce­ dures to be used before a student is suspended from school, it and the district's employ­ ees may be legally required to adhere to them. 1.2

THE COURTS AND EDUCATION LAW

Courts perform three overlapping functions of importance to teachers whether or not they are personally involved in litigation. First, courts resolve conflicts by applying constitutional provisions, legislation, and regulations to specific situations. Second, courts rule on the constitutional validity of statutes, policies, and actions. For example, courts determine whether a statute is consistent with the Constitution or the dismissal of a teacher violates a constitutional right. Third, courts provide the official interpreta­ tion of the federal and state constitutions, statutes, regulations, and common law. In performing these functions, courts must frequently deal with broad, ambiguous, and even vaguely worded rules of law. Often the meaning of a law is at the heart of a legal dispute. It is one thing to know, for example, that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires "equal protection of the laws" for all persons and quite another to determine whether an affirmative action program that gives preference to some people because of their race or gender is consistent with this requirement. Interpreting rules of law raises difficult and unsettled issues. Some argue that con­ stitutional interpretation should be based solely on the intent of the framers and ratifiers, whereas others believe the Constitution must evolve in response to new con­ ditions and problems. Similarly contentious issues arise concerning the interpretation of statutes and common law precedent. Regardless of the theory of interpretation employed, the decisions rendered by courts form a body of law known as case law. Some case law is constitutional law, some is statutory law, and some is common law. The study of education law or any subject area of law is primarily a study of cases because case law provides the author­ itative interpretation of constitutional provisions, statutes, and common law. We

6

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

study cases to find out who prevailed in a particular legal dispute and to learn why. By studying the rulings of courts, we hope to learn to conduct ourselves lawfully in related situations. The majority of this text consists of descriptions and discussions of case law. Readers who wish a more in-depth study are advised to read the relevant cases themselves. Decisions in prior cases similar to the one under consideration are referred to as pre­ cedents. If a precedent comes from a court with jurisdiction in the area of a current dis­ pute, it is called a mandatory precedent. If it comes from a different area of jurisdiction, it is called a persuasive precedent. Mandatory precedents make law and bind the actions of government in a particular area of jurisdiction, whereas persuasive precedents merely show how courts in other jurisdictions view a particular question. Even when a mandatory precedent exists, it still may not govern the outcome of a current dispute. Because no two cases are ever factually identical, the precedent may only provide partial guidance or a critical difference may make the precedent distin­ guishable and thus inapplicable to a current case. Whether an otherwise binding pre­ cedent is distinguishable is frequently a matter of dispute in a lawsuit. A mandatory precedent from a higher court must be followed but courts may decline to follow their own previous rulings. Courts are not bound to follow persuasive precedents, but they may choose to unless there is a contradictory mandatory precedent. 1.3

THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

There are both federal and state courts. Both systems are organized into three levels: trial courts, intermediate courts of appeal, and one (in a few states, two) highest court. Federal and state courts vary in the kinds of cases they may decide but, in both systems, courts at all levels are limited to dealing with cases that someone brings before them. A court cannot, for example, declare that a newly enacted statute is unconstitutional until a case comes before the court that depends on the constitutionality of the statute. In most instances, cases can only be initiated by someone with a direct stake in the out­ come of the dispute. Such an individual is said to have standing. Federal Courts

The federal court system deals almost exclusively with cases involving federal consti­ tutional or statutory issues. Only in certain limited and exceptional circumstances will the federal courts deal with conflicts regarding the interpretation of state constitutions, state statutes, or common law. Nevertheless, the decisions of federal courts have had a tremendous impact on local schools. There are ninety-five federal trial courts called district courts. Each state has at least one federal district court and heavily populated states may have several, each with jurisdiction over a different region of the state. These courts hear evidence in order to build the factual record of cases brought before them. Their primary function, once the facts are determined, is to apply the law as found in the Constitution, federal statutes, and relevant higher court precedent. Trial judges rarely get involved in rein­ terpreting the law.

THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

7

The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system are the circuit courts of ap­ peals. There are thirteen federal circuit courts—eleven with jurisdiction over a group of states, one for the District of Columbia, and one consisting of three specialized fed­ eral courts. Table 1.1 indicates the jurisdiction of each circuit. The function and procedures of both the intermediate and highest appellate courts dif­ fer greatly from trial courts. These multimember courts conduct no trials and hear no new evidence. Their sole function is to review the records of lower courts to determine if errors of law have been made. Errors of law come in many forms, including incorrect in­ structions to a jury, wrongful applications of rules of evidence, procedural mistakes, and misinterpretations of the Constitution, relevant statutes, or other rules of law. After considering both written and oral arguments from both sides of the case, the panel of judges votes, reaches a decision, and begins the process of opinion writing. This may entail some bargaining among the judges regarding the rationale for the deci­ sion and the legal rules and principles to be announced. If an appellate court decides that an error of law has been made, it has two basic options: to declare a new final judg­ ment or to remand the case for retrial by the lower court in accordance with the appel­ late court's new ruling. The highest federal court, the Supreme Court, hears appeals from the federal cir­ cuit courts and from any of the state highest courts in cases involving issues of federal law. (In rare instances, not usually relevant to education, the Supreme Court may also conduct trials.) The Court is not obligated to hear every case appealed to it and decides with full opinion only about 100 of the 7,000 cases brought to it each year. The Court is so selective regarding the cases it chooses to hear because its primary purpose is not simply to correct the mistakes of the lower courts. As the only court whose rulings are binding throughout the country, the Supreme Court serves as the final arbiter of the meaning of federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution. As such, the Court endeavors to TABLE 1.1 Jurisdiction of Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals Circuit 1st

Jurisdiction Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island

2nd

Connecticut, New York, Vermont

3rd

Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands

4th

Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

5th

Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

6th

Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee

7th

Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin

8th

Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

9th

Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Washington

10th

Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming

11th

Alabama, Florida, Georgia

D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Federal

Washington, D.C. (specialized courts)

8

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

hear cases that will resolve inconsistent rulings among the federal circuit courts that raise an especially important or novel point of law and that have potentially wide­ spread consequences. Supreme Court justices and all other federal judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval and serve for life unless removed for committing a crime. Be­ cause the Supreme Court has nine members, it takes the agreement of five to form a majority opinion of the Court. Precedent is created only if at least five justices agree on the outcome of a case and the rationale for the decision. Justices who disagree with the decision may issue dissenting opinions, but only majority opinions have the force of law. Similarly, justices agreeing with the outcome but disagreeing with the rationale may issue separate, nonbinding, concurring opinions. Even when there is no majority agreement on the rationale for a decision the out­ come of the case is still decided by majority vote. There may be a plurality opinion supported by a majority of the justices on the winning side and one or more concurring and dissenting opinions. If the Court is split badly enough, there may not even be a plu­ rality opinion, only a brief unsigned per curiam opinion stating the outcome of the case and a group of concurring and dissenting opinions. In any case, none of the vari­ ous opinions issued when there is no majority opinion creates precedent. When the Court is deadlocked on even the outcome of a case, with one judge not participating, the judgment of the circuit court is affirmed and no precedent is created. State Courts State courts hear cases involving state constitutional law, state statutes, and common law and may also hear cases involving federal issues. Cases raising both state and fed­ eral questions are heard in state court. Many education cases are decided in state courts because they raise no federal legal questions. For example, cases of alleged negligence by school officials are usually heard in state courts. The structure of state judiciaries mirrors the federal system: trial courts, intermedi­ ate appellate courts, and usually a single highest court. Although state courts at all lev­ els are known by a variety of names, in the majority of states the highest court is the supreme court. State trial courts usually cover a relatively small geographical area, whereas intermediate courts hear appeals from more than one trial court jurisdiction. As in the federal system, the opinions of intermediate courts are binding only within their jurisdiction so it is possible for different intermediate courts within the same state to reach conflicting legal conclusions. One of the roles of a state's highest court is to reconcile discrepancies in lower court opinions. The highest court's decisions are binding on all other courts within its state court system but not on federal courts or the courts of other states. 1.4

ELEMENTS OF A JUDICIAL DECISION

Trial courts sometimes, intermediate courts often, and highest courts usually conclude their proceedings by issuing a written opinion. Judicial opinions are comprised of a set of components or elements that provide the information necessary to understand a

ELEMENTS OF A JUDICIAL DECISION

9

court's decision concerning who won the case and why. A standard opinion contains the following elements: the case name, a review of the facts, a restatement of the claims and arguments of both sides, a review of the case's procedural history, a statement of the issue(s), a ruling on the issue(s), a justification for each ruling, and the disposition. Case Name Almost all cases are named for the adversaries or parties to the case. The person who brings a suit to trial is called the plaintiff or sometimes the complainant, and the per­ son or governmental unit against whom the suit is brought is the defendant or respon­ dent. In trial court opinions, the name of the case is in the form Plaintiff v. Defendant (e.g., McLaughlin v. Central School District No. 21). If the case is appealed, the initia­ tor of the appeal (the loser of the previous round) is called the appellant or the peti­ tioner and the other party, the appellee or respondent. In the federal system and most other courts, the case name now lists the appellant first and the appellee second (e.g., Central School District No. 21 v. McLaughlin). Facts A court's statement of the facts of the case recounts who did what to whom, when, where, how, and why. The court describes the conflict between the parties as deter­ mined from the evidence presented at trial. Although these descriptions may be human dramas of high emotion, sometimes the facts are merely descriptions of laws or poli­ cies adopted by a governmental entity and a discussion of their effects. Claims The opinion may next review the objectives or goals of the two parties and the argu­ ments offered in support of their claims. For example, if the parties disagree about the correct interpretation of a statute, the decision will reprint the part of the statute in dis­ pute and discuss the contentions of the parties regarding the meaning of the statute. Procedural History Opinions usually include a review of the motions, counter-motions, and other legal maneuvers of the parties as well as the previous decisions of lower courts in the case. For example, a decision of a highest court may indicate that the trial court ruled for the plaintiff and why and that the intermediate appellate court reversed the decision and why. Issues In every case, the parties disagree about the facts or on the proper application of the law to the facts. The questions raised by these disagreements are the issues of the case. The

10

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

outcome depends on the court's answers to the issues. Some cases raise both issues of fact and issues of law. For example, a case may turn on the following two questions: whether the teacher was present in the room when the student was hurt and what level of supervision the law requires a teacher to give students. Some opinions explicitly state the issues as the court sees them, but others are less forthcoming and leave it to the reader to work out the issues. Often courts facilitate their analysis by dividing a large complex issue into a series of smaller ones. These smaller issues may be organized in a logical sequence analo­ gous to a flow chart. For example, a court may first decide whether the actions of the plaintiff are of the type protected by the Free Speech Clause of the Constitution. If the answer is yes, then it must next determine whether the defendant met the appropriate standard for controlling protected speech. Rulings and Justification The main body of the opinion contains the answers to the issues and the rationale or reasoning supporting each ruling. There may not be a clear separation of rulings and justifications, so again sorting these out may be up to the reader. Rulings are also referred to as holdings, findings, or conclusions of law. A brief statement encapsulating the material facts and major conclusions of law may also be referred to as the holding of the case. Rulings interpreting a constitutional provision or other law may provide principles, rules, standards, or doctrine to guide the applica­ tion of the law in related situations. Courts arrive at their rulings through deductive reasoning with the relevant facts and rules of law as premises. The deductive argument also provides the justification for the decision. A simple example: Premise 1 (factual finding): X was driving at 40 mph on Main St. Premise 2 (rule of law): The speed limit on Main St. is 30 mph and exceeding this speed limit is the legal wrong of speeding. Conclusion (ruling): X has committed the legal wrong of speeding.

The cases discussed in this book, however, are never so simple because, although the facts may be well known, the application of the relevant legal rules, principles, or tests is not clear-cut. For example, if the legal rule required that drivers maintain a rea­ sonable speed rather than specifying a precise speed limit, the issue of whether X was speeding would be more difficult to decide. Disposition Having determined the winner of a legal dispute and explained its rationale, the court concludes its opinion with an order dictating what must be done consistent with the holdings in the case. If the defendant wins a trial, the trial court will simply dismiss the case and perhaps order the plaintiff to pay court and legal fees. If the plaintiff wins, the trial court will fashion a remedy for the injustice the plaintiff has suffered. Depending

LEGAL CITATIONS

11

on the type of case, the law may permit various forms of remedy including payment of money damages, issuance of an injunction or order requiring public officials to cease prohibited practices or perform mandated duties, or other relief specifically fashioned to undo the wrong. In some cases, the court may order further proceedings to decide on an appropriate remedy. An appellate court can conclude a case by affirming or uphold­ ing the trial court decision, modifying it in some respect, or reversing the trial court. In the latter case, the court may either issue an order of its own or remand the case back to the trial court for additional proceedings consistent with its ruling. Many cases are re­ manded for procedural reasons with the outcome no longer in doubt.

Interpreting judicial opinions is a subtle and imprecise act. Lawyers and judges in later cases argue over the meaning of precedents just as they argue over the meaning of statutes and constitutional provisions. For example, a court may have ruled against starting the school day with an organized prayer, but does this ruling preclude a mo­ ment of silence? One common pitfall is to confuse the holdings of a court with the dicta that surround it. Dicta, which may be defined as "side comments," are parts of an opinion not neces­ sary to the outcome. Opinions often include commentaries concerning issues and hypo­ theticals related to the case under consideration. For example, the opinion in a speeding case might say: "Although a life and death emergency might justify exceeding the speed limit, there was no emergency here." This is dicta and concluding that drivers are autho­ rized to exceed the speed limit in life and death emergencies would be wrong.

1.5

LEGAL CITATIONS

Citations to judicial opinions are in the form of a series of numbers and abbreviations following the case name that indicate where the opinion may be found. The books that report court decisions, known as case reporters, are generally found only in law librar­ ies and other specialized locations. Additionally, the full text of published federal and state court decisions as well as federal and state statutes and regulations of government agencies can be found at various sites on the Internet. A good starting point for locating cases and other legal research is www.findlaw.com. Other useful sites include: www.supremecourtus.gov; www.farislaw.com; www.ed.gov; www.law.cornell.edu; www.law.house.gov; www.law.stanford.edu/library; www.brennancenter.org; and www.aclu.org. Case citations all follow the same basic format. An example of a citation for a U.S. Supreme Court opinion with each of its elements identified is as follows: Keyishian v. Board of Regents, Name of Case,

385

U.S.

589

(1967)

Volume

Case Reporter

Page

(Year Decided)

This case is found on page 589 of volume 385 in the set of books known as United States Reports, always abbreviated "U.S." in case citations (see Table 1.2). Although

12

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW TABLE 1.2 Reporters for Federal Court Decisions

Abbreviation

Title

Courts Reported

Publisher

U.S.

United States Reports

Supreme Court

U.S. government

S. Ct.

Supreme Court

Supreme Court

West Publishing Co.

F.3d

Federal Reporter, third series

Circuit Courts

West Publishing Co.

F. Supp. 2d

Federal Supplement, second series

District Courts

West Publishing Co.

the year is given, the case can be found without it. United States Reports is the official government publication of Supreme Court opinions. Additionally, several private case reporters also publish Supreme Court opinions. The most commonly cited of these is the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.). For example, the Keyishian case may be cited as 87 S. Ct. 675, indicating that the opinion may be found on page 675 of volume 87. The United States Reports citation should be used unless it is not yet available. Citations to lower federal courts give the same information as Supreme Court cita­ tions and give the abbreviated name of the specific circuit or district court in parenthe­ ses before the date (although this information is not necessary to find the case). An example of a federal circuit court of appeals decision from the Fifth Circuit is: Tomkins v. Vickers, 26 F.3d 603 (5th Cir. 1994).

An opinion from the district court of the Northern District of Illinois would be: Olesen v. Board of Education, 676 F. Supp. 820 (N.D. I11. 1987). Citations to lower federal court decisions may also include additional information about the subsequent actions of higher courts. For example, in Uzzell v. Friday, 547 F.2d 801 (4th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 951 (1980), the last part of the citation indicates that the Supreme Court "denied certiorari," meaning it refused to review the case. The official denial is reported in United States Reports as cited. (Some textbooks, including this one, omit the cert. denied citation unless it is considered particularly im­ portant.) Other citations might include a notation that the decision was subsequently affirmed (aff'd) or reversed (rev 'd). State case citations follow the same format but they have their own case reporters. Although most states publish their own case reporters, the most readily available source of state appellate court decisions is the regional reporters published by West Publishing Company. Seven regional reporters cover groups of states (see Table 1.3). The information in parentheses indicates the state and year for cases heard in a state's highest court or a more complete court name for other cases. Some sources employ a double or even triple citation ("parallel citation") also listing the official state-published reporters, but, in keeping with current standard style, this volume only uses the citation to the regional reporter.

13

SUMMARY

TABLE 1.3 Regional Reporters States

Abbreviation

Title

A.2d

Atlantic Reporter, second series

Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

N.E.2d

North Eastern Reporter, second series North Western Reporter, second series

Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio

P.3d

Pacific Reporter, third series

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

S.E.2d

South Eastern Reporter, second series

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

S.W.3d

South Western Reporter, third series

Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas

So. 2d

Southern Reporter, second series

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi

N.W.2d

Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Statutory citations are similar to cases, but a section (§) number is given instead of a page. Federal statutes may be cited to the United States Code (U.S.C.), the preferred source; to the Statutes at Large (Stat.); or to the United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.). For example, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (1981) refers to section 2000d in volume 42 of the edition of United States Code published in 1981. Some textbooks, including this one, omit the years from statute citations because the volume and section numbers are the same in every edition of statutes. A federal statute might also be referred to by its popular name, such as the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," followed by the citation. Each state has its own specialized notation for citations to state statutes, but most follow a format similar to federal. In some states there is more than one possible source and citation for the same statute. Federal regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) and in the Federal Register (Fed. Reg.). Citations give the volume, abbreviation, section or page, and (sometimes) year of publication, such as 34 C.F.R. 106.12 (1996) or 62 Fed. Reg. 12038 (1997). Complete information concerning legal citations may be found in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (17th edition), published by the Harvard Law Review As­ sociation in 2000. New editions are published about every five years. Information con­ cerning legal citations is also available online at www.law.cornell.edu/citation. 1.6

SUMMARY

The law plays a part in everything that educators do. Some practices are required by law, some are prohibited, and the rest are permitted. The law of education comes in a

14

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION LAW

variety of forms: constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, common law, and policies. Some of the law originates at the federal level, some at the state, and some pol­ icies are formulated by local school boards with authority delegated by the state. Regardless of the origin of a law, it falls to the courts to interpret it and apply it to specific disputes. Courts also resolve inconsistencies between laws and rule on the va­ lidity of laws that might contradict higher authority. Ultimately, case law provides the official meaning of laws. There is a federal judiciary, and each state has its own judicial system. The organi­ zation of the judicial systems at both levels consists of trial courts and two levels of ap­ pellate courts, intermediate and highest. In the federal system, these are known as district courts, circuit courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court. Trial courts hear evi­ dence, determine facts, and apply the law, whereas appellate courts correct errors of law at lower levels. Appellate courts, especially the highest courts, focus on issues of broad significance. Their majority opinions make law within their area of jurisdiction. Most written court decisions contain certain common elements. The facts of the case are the events and actions that created the dispute under consideration, and the is­ sues are the disputed questions of law or fact. The holdings of a court explain and jus­ tify its decisions. Holdings set precedent for future cases. Published court decisions as well as laws and regulations are cited according to a uniform system of legal notation.

CHAPTER

2

CURRICULUM

The primary responsibility of teachers is to promote the educational goals of their state, school district, and school. Their primary function is to participate in the delivery of the school's program or curriculum. This chapter considers the legal origins of the curriculum, in particular, the power of the state to determine what will be taught in pub­ lic schools. In every state, parents and children are subject to laws requiring young people to at­ tend public schools or a state-approved alternative. The most legally troublesome out­ come of compulsory attendance laws is that some children find themselves in public schools where they are exposed to teachings that violate their parents' or their own basic beliefs. The public school curriculum is society's primary method of attempting to structure its future. Because of the perceived potential of schools to promote cul­ tural, political, ideological, and even religious attitudes and behaviors, debate over curriculum is pervasive, ongoing, and acrimonious. To control curriculum is to decide how the young are to be instructed, what we would have them know and value, and ulti­ mately, what we would have them believe. As U.S. society becomes ever more pluralistic, pressures mount to ensure that the public school provides its diverse population with a common educational experience. Equally strong are demands that schools respect and even promote the various cultures into which the school population was born. In short, society is faced with many ques­ tions: Will the public school curriculum be a smorgasbord or a melting pot? Will pub­ lic schools offer an array of culturally, politically, ideologically, educationally, and linguistically diverse experiences from which parents or students may choose? Will there be separate schools and programs for, among others, Black males, Spanishspeaking children, fundamentalist Christians, and those who want to study the arts? Or will the schools provide all students with a common experience? If a common experi­ ence is provided, will it be multicultural or focused primarily on the dominant culture? 15

16

CHAPTER 2: CURRICULUM

Whichever option is chosen, how and by whom will the curriculum be developed? Will its ultimate goal be to promote diversity or to create a uniform U.S. culture and creed? This chapter explores these questions and the legal problems they create. It begins by discussing the shared legal authority for the creation and control of the school pro­ gram. Then the chapter considers a variety of legal challenges to the power of the state and local school boards to set curriculum, select materials, and structure the activities of public schools. Most of these challenges are based on the religion or speech clauses of the First Amendment or other constitutional provisions. 2.1

CONTROL OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAM: AN OVERVIEW

Although some state constitutions contain brief references to subjects that must be taught, the primary legal authority for specifying the curriculum of the public schools rests with the state legislatures. (In a few states, by constitutional provision, this power is shared between the state legislature and the state board of education.) The state legis­ lature may, if it wishes, prescribe the basic course of study down to the last detail, se­ lect all books and materials, determine graduation requirements, prescribe standardized testing requirements, and even establish the methods of instruction. In practice no legislature has gone this far. All of them, to varying degrees, volun­ tarily share control of the curriculum with their state boards of education and, most im­ portant, with local school districts. Within the limits set by the legislature, many of the details of a school's curriculum are set by the local school board. In some places, legal authority over the public school program has in recent years been shifted to individual schools either by creating school-based management councils or through a system of charter schools. In Kentucky, school-site councils now enjoy a range of powers that in­ clude control of the curriculum, instructional practices, textbooks, and instructional materials.1 The Chicago School Reform Act created Local School Councils that have the power to appoint the principal, approve school improvement plans, and make rec­ ommendations regarding textbooks and other curricular matters.2 Charter schools are legal entities created by the legislatures of about forty states. In some states, they are state-approved, not-for-profit, nonreligious private schools that control their own programs and receive state funding for each pupil they attract. Some states also permit existing public schools to apply to become charter schools at the ini­ tiation of local parents and teachers. Charter schools are released from many of the re­ quirements of their state and local school board, thereby freeing them to develop their own policies and programs. For example, Connecticut permits up to one-half of the teachers in charter schools to be noncertified.3 However, there are other regulations with which charter schools must comply, such as antidiscrimination requirements, labor laws, reporting, and even open meeting law requirements.4 At the other end of the educational governance spectrum lies the federal govern­ ment, which, despite the Tenth Amendment (see sec. 1.1), also plays an important part in shaping the school program. The primary mechanisms of federal control are categorical aid, money provided with programmatic requirements attached, and anti­ discrimination statutes that regulate the education provided to minority groups and special populations (see chap. 5 and 6). Finally, the judiciary, primarily through its

CONTROL OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAM: AN OVERVIEW

17

constitutional interpretations, also has a significant effect on the program of public schools. Outside the formal governance process of education, many extralegal influences af­ fect the curriculum, such as textbook manufacturers, teacher unions and professional associations, parents, and a variety of special interest groups. Teachers and school ad­ ministrators also may have a great deal of control over the programs of their own class­ rooms and schools. This control may be viewed as delegated either explicitly by the school board or implicitly by the failure of state and local authorities to act. (See the discussion of academic freedom in sec. 7.2 for consideration of the very limited extent of teachers' legal authority to control their own curriculum.) This chapter focuses on the legal authority to control the curriculum rather than on the political and educational mechanisms of curriculum development. Establishing Minimum Standards

Setting minimum standards regarding the education all public school students must re­ ceive is a task shared by multiple levels of government. State law and policy require certain courses and topics for all students and establish minimum course work and achievement requirements. Local school districts may then establish their own addi­ tional minimum standards as long as they do not contradict state requirements. Federal statutes and aid programs specify additional minimum standards, most notably regard­ ing the education of students with disabilities or limited English proficiency (see chap. 6). The Supreme Court has suggested, but not officially ruled, that the provision of a minimally adequate education to some students but not others violates the Equal Pro­ tection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.5 A number of the highest state courts have declared a state constitutional duty to provide all students with a minimally ade­ quate education. Creating Priorities

Some priorities and goals for local schools are created or at least influenced by state graduation, promotion, and testing requirements. Federal aid programs also may have significant effects on the educational priorities of local school districts. The most influential federal law is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (see sec. 2.7), which has caused many schools to refocus their priorities on basic literacy and test-taking skills. Within these constraints, most goal setting occurs under the aus­ pices of local school boards. Limiting Local Options

In many states, statutes specifically prohibit certain subjects or topics, such as curric­ ula designed to promote belief in communism. In some states, statutes allow parents and even students themselves to force a local school to offer courses or programs that are not otherwise required by the state. Where statewide textbook adoption exists, such as in California and Texas, state officials have an additional way to limit what

18

CHAPTER 2: CURRICULUM

may be taught. Federal and state court rulings also restrict school programs, particu­ larly in the area of religious instruction. Additionally, the judiciary has placed some limits on state and school board authority to exclude or remove courses and books from the curriculum. Establishing Graduation Requirements State statutes and regulations typically establish minimum credit requirements for graduation. Most states also specify a certain set of courses required for graduation (e.g., four years of English) although some leave this entirely to local districts. What­ ever the minimum graduation requirements imposed by the state, districts are free to impose more stringent requirements. Some states also require students to pass a mini­ mum competency exam in order to graduate. These tests raise issues of discrimination and equal protection (see chap. 5). Determining Course Content State legislatures occasionally create specific course content requirements. For exam­ ple, a state statute might specify a required health course covering topics such as the dan­ gers of smoking, alcohol, and other drug use. State regulations may provide even greater detail. Some state boards of education issue required or suggested syllabi for some courses. State testing requirements, such as the statewide final exams used in New York, create an implicit syllabus. Statewide textbook adoption, where employed, is another way for the state to influence course content. Federal statutes and regulations may also affect course content especially regarding the education of students with disabilities. Within the boundaries of these constraints, the remaining details concerning the content of specific courses are determined by local school boards and their employees. Selecting Methods of Instruction Other than specifying that the language of instruction be English, state law typically has little to say about methods of instruction. Local school boards therefore have broad dis­ cretion, often delegated to individual schools and teachers. There has been relatively lit­ tle litigation in this area (but see the discussion of academic freedom in sec. 7.2). Choosing Materials More than half the states have some form of statewide textbook adoption. In most of these, the legislature or state board appoints a state textbook commission with the power to limit the materials available to schools. Some choice among approved materi­ als is left to the local district. In states without a system of textbook adoption, the selec­ tion of materials is a local matter. The degree and mode of educator involvement in the selection of materials varies greatly.

STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ON SCHOOL BOARD CONTROL OF CURRICULUM

19

Determining the Political and Cultural Perspective of Courses

State legislation may affect the perspectives of the curriculum by excluding certain courses and topics and requiring others. For example, a number of states mandate in­ clusion of patriotic topics and themes, and some require emphasis on the contributions of minority groups to U.S. history. Statewide textbook adoption provides an additional opportunity to shape the political and cultural perspectives of the schools. The judi­ ciary has played a modest role in reviewing and shaping the perspectives of courses and programs, mostly in cases involving freedom of speech. Local school boards have by far the greatest opportunity to affect the political and cultural perspectives of school programs. In fact, many would argue that local control of education exists to permit communities to promote their own values in their schools. Creating Pupil Classification Systems

State statutes and regulations provide for classification of pupils by age and grade level and establish complex systems for classifying pupils in need of nonstandard educa­ tional programs. Federal and state regulations, most often through categorical aid pro­ grams, also influence the classification of pupils with special needs (see chap. 6). Local districts retain the basic authority to establish pupil classification schemes for purposes of tracking and ability grouping, but the Constitution and antidiscrimination statutes set significant limitations (see chap. 5). Exempting Students From Courses

It is not uncommon for state laws to excuse students from courses if they or their par­ ents object on religious grounds. Whether and under what circumstances religion-based exemptions to courses, topics, and materials are constitutionally required is discussed in Section 2.4.

2.2

STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ON SCHOOL BOARD CONTROL OF CURRICULUM

A mostly older, but still valid, body of case law involves the claim that a local school board lacks the state-delegated authority to implement a particular course or program. School boards have prevailed in almost all these cases. For example, in 1886, the Su­ preme Court of Indiana ruled that local boards had the legal authority to require their pupils to study and practice music.6 Similarly, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in 1927 that physical education could be included in the curriculum.7 Much more re­ cently, a California court upheld the authority of a local school board to enter into a contract with a private company in which the school received video equipment in ex­ change for showing its students a daily ten-minute current-events program designed to appeal to teenagers. Plaintiffs objected to the agreement because the programs in­ cluded two minutes of commercial advertising; however, the court disagreed because

20

CHAPTER 2: CURRICULUM

the contract and the programs had a valid educational purpose and because individual students could be excused from watching if they wished.8 Even without the opt-out provision, it is probable that the program would have been approved because the statu­ tory authority of local school boards to offer or require courses of their own choosing is well-settled. State laws requiring or authorizing local school districts to offer a particular course usually, but not always, leave it to the school board to develop its own syllabus and choose its own instructional methods. However, a number of states have enacted stat­ utes requiring that students be taught only in English.9 These laws have the effect of making the use of bilingual instruction illegal except as required by federal law (see sec. 6.4.). California's English-only law specifically authorizes parents to sue for en­ forcement of the law and for actual damages and attorney fees. A teacher who repeat­ edly violates the law can be held personally liable. Many state statutes requiring or authorizing the teaching of sex education place lim­ its on local school board authority. A number of states, including Oklahoma, give par­ ents the right to inspect sex education materials.10 Idaho requires parental and community involvement in the development of sex education curricula.11 Some states, Alabama and Kansas among them, give parents the right to have their children excused from sex education classes.12 A number of state statutes concerning sex education re­ quire the teaching of abstinence.13 The Louisiana statute authorizing local school districts to offer instruction in sex edu­ cation is quite restrictive. The statute defines "sex education" as "the dissemination of factual biological or pathological information" about human reproduction and specifies that the instruction "shall not include religious beliefs, practices in human sexuality, nor the subjective moral and ethical judgments of the instructor or other persons." The stat­ ute also says that students may not be "tested, quizzed, or surveyed about their personal or family beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion," that the major emphasis of the program must be to encourage sexual abstinence between unmarried persons, and that no program may counsel or advocate abortion.14 Based on this statute, parents success­ fully challenged the sex education program of a Louisiana school. The court agreed with the parents that numerous passages in the program's instructional materials violated the statute; for example, that the following passage violated the prohibition against religious or subjective judgments: "The full pleasure of genital sex can't be separated from the spiritual, emotional and mental parts of our sexuality."15 Parents also have been successful in litigation to force a school to offer a particular course or program when their claim was supported by a specific state statute. Some states require the school board to maintain a kindergarten or provide a foreign lan­ guage or other course on petition of a specified number of parents or students. In Mas­ sachusetts, for example, twenty pupils or five percent of the students enrolled in a high school, whichever is less, may demand that a course be taught.16 In a number of states, parents have a statutory right to examine the school curriculum.17 2.3

OBJECTIONS TO RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The past fifty years have seen almost no constitutional litigation challenging the right of states or schools to teach the basic subjects. Although some parents probably oppose

OBJECTIONS TO RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

21

the teaching of grammar, music, or physical education for psychological, pedagogical, or idiosyncratic reasons, these parents seem content either to accept the state's author­ ity to control the program of the public schools or to opt for a private or home school whose program they find more acceptable. This does not mean that states and their schools now enjoy the freedom to offer or re­ quire any program without fear of parental complaint. When school programs concern value-laden issues about which there is no consensus within the community, some par­ ents are sure to object. If the objection can be framed in constitutional terms, litigation often results. In cases when a public school's curriculum is found to conflict with fed­ eral or state constitutional principles, a court will prohibit its use. By far the most common constitutional objection raised against a school program is that it fails to respect the wall of separation between church and state. In the early years of U.S. public schooling, the wall of separation was often crossed. Bible readings, or­ ganized prayers, the celebration of religious holidays, and a variety of other religious observances and ceremonies were common features of school programs in most places. In addition, public schools generally offered a kind of pan-Protestant curricu­ lum that many Catholics and non-Christians found offensive. In fact, objections to the strongly Protestant flavor of the public school curriculum led to the founding of the Catholic schools, by far the largest private school system in the United States. School Prayer

By the mid-twentieth century, those who objected to overt religious practices in public schools began looking to the courts for relief. In 1962, inEngelv. Vitale,18 the Supreme Court prohibited the organized recitation of a nondenominational prayer especially composed by the state to avoid offending any religious group. The following year, the issue of organized Bible readings in school reached the Court in School District of Abington Township v. Schempp.19 In Schempp, the Court simultaneously considered two cases in which students and their parents objected to the reading "without comment" of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer as part of the schools' morning exercises. The plaintiffs argued that the exercises violated the First Amendment's prohibition against the government's "es­ tablishment of religion." The schools defended their practices by pointing out that the readings were not designed to promote any particular religion (various versions of the Bible were utilized) and that students were not compelled to participate in the exercises and could even leave the room if they wished, and by arguing that to elimi­ nate the readings would violate the right of free exercise of religion of those who wished to hear them. The Schempp Court based its findings in favor of the plaintiffs on its understanding of the intentions underlying the adoption of the Establishment Clause. Quoting from an earlier opinion, the Court declared: The [First] Amendment's purpose was not to strike merely at the official establishment of a single sect, creed, or religion, outlawing only a formal relation such as had pre­ vailed in England and some of the colonies. Necessarily it was to uproot all such rela­ tionships. But the object was broader than separating church and state in this narrow

22

CHAPTER 2: CURRICULUM

sense. It was to create a complete and permanent separation of the spheres of religious activity and civil authority by comprehensively forbidding every form of public aid or support for religion.

Based on this understanding, the Schempp Court developed a framework for evalu­ ating claims that school programs and curricula conflict with the Establishment Clause. The Court declared that for a public school program to withstand a challenge based on the Establishment Clause, both its purpose and its primary effect must be secular. These two requirements have since been combined with a third criterion called entanglement (designed to prohibit either the reality or the appearance of situations in which government and religious activity cannot be distinguished from one another) to form a three-part test that is now used to adjudicate all cases involving an alleged viola­ tion of the Establishment Clause. Known as the Lemon test after the case in which it was first employed,20 the test holds that a government policy or practice violates the Establishment Clause if (a) its purpose is to endorse or disapprove of religion, or (b) its primary effect is to advance or inhibit religion, or (c) it creates excessive administra­ tive entanglement between church and state. The test prohibits any action of govern­ ment that serves either to advance or to inhibit one religion compared to another or religion in general. Applying the framework to the facts of the Schempp case, the Court concluded that government-sponsored prayers and readings from holy books, even if arguably nonde­ nominational, had both the purpose and primary effect of advancing religion in gen­ eral. Even when participation was voluntary, the Court recognized that state sponsorship of religious exercises signals approval and, in the context of the public school, tends to encourage conformity to prevailing practice and belief. The Court rejected the argument that removing organized prayer from school was an expression of hostility toward religion or that it established a "religion of secular­ ism." Nor did prohibiting schools from formally organizing and supporting prayers in­ fringe on the free exercise of religion of those who wished to pray. Nothing prevented students from praying voluntarily before or after school or even silently during the school day. Since the 1960s, federal courts have relied on the analyses in Schempp and Vitale and on the Lemon test to decide a number of other cases concerning prayer and reli­ gious texts in schools. In 1980, in Stone v. Graham,21 the Supreme Court disallowed a Kentucky statute requiring schools to display copies of the Ten Commandments pur­ chased with private funds. The Court noted that this was not a case "in which the Ten Commandments are integrated into the school curriculum, where the Bible may consti­ tutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like. Posting of religious texts on the wall serves no such educational function." Similarly, in a 1993 Michigan case, a federal district court found that the posting of a two-foot by three-foot picture of Jesus at a busy intersection in the school's hallways violated the Establishment Clause.22 In Karen B. v. Treen,23 the Fifth Circuit disallowed an opening exercise in which a student voluntarily selected and read a prayer. Likewise, in Collins v. Chandler Unified School District,24 the Ninth Circuit prohibited the practice of allowing a stu­ dent to lead a school assembly in prayer even if attendance at the assembly was volun­

OBJECTIONS TO RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

23

tary. The Court further ruled that prohibiting the practice did not violate the free exercise rights of students who wished to pray. In 1985, a federal district court in Michigan rejected the argument that academic freedom protects a teacher's right to pray and read the Bible in class.25 In 1989, the Eleventh Circuit banned the practice of coaches leading their players in prayer before an athletic event,26 and in 1992, in Lee v. Weisman,27 the Supreme Court resolved a dis­ agreement in the lower courts by ruling that opening prayers at graduation ceremonies are unconstitutional. The Court noted that such "state-sponsored and state-directed re­ ligious exercise[s]" create "subtle coercive pressures" for participation and confor­ mity of belief. In response to Lee v. Weisman, some school districts have sought ways to include prayers at school-sponsored public events such as football games and graduation cere­ monies without running afoul of the Establishment Clause. These efforts have sought to take advantage of the fact that students themselves enjoy First Amendment free speech protection (see chap. 3). Thus, if a prayer could be considered the private speech of a student rather than "school-sponsored" speech, it might survive an Estab­ lishment Clause challenge. To this end, the Santa Fe Independent School District revised its former policy of having a "Student Chaplain" deliver prayers at football games. Under the new policy, the student body was empowered to vote each year, under the advice and direction of the school principal, on whether to have a student speaker at football games "deliver a brief invocation and/or message [to] solemnize the event." If a majority agreed, then a second election would be held to choose the student speaker from a list of volunteers; the chosen student could "decide what message and/or invocation to deliver consistent with the goals and purposes of this policy." In Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe,28 the Supreme Court struck down the new policy. The Court rejected the claim that the invocations were "private speech" in the context of a governmentally created forum. Rather, said the Court, the invocations were authorized by a government policy whose purpose was to preserve the past practice of opening the games with a prayer. The process would almost inevi­ tably result in the selection of a student who would choose an invocation consisting of a prayer. Indeed, the very word "invocation" suggests the use of a prayer. Under the circumstances, concluded the Court, "an objective Santa Fe High School student will unquestionably perceive the inevitable pregame prayer as stamped with her school's seal of approval." The fact that much of the audience at the football game was not re­ quired to attend did not alter this conclusion. In Cole v. Oroville Union High School District,29 the Ninth Circuit added another di­ mension to the meaning of the Santa Fe decision. In Cole, two students—one who was elected by the students to give an invocation and another who was a co-valedictorian— wanted to use their opportunity to speak at the school's graduation ceremony to de­ liver, respectively, a sectarian prayer and proselytizing Christian talk. The principal of the school denied both students permission to present the material they had prepared. In response to the students' claim that their free speech rights had been violated, the court ruled that the circumstances under which the two presentations were to be made was sufficiently like that of Santa Fe—the principal had the authority to review all speeches and invocations and had the final say regarding their content—that if they

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had been permitted to use their material, the school would have violated the Establish­ ment Clause. In other words, not only was the school permitted to prohibit the students from speaking as they wished, but it also was constitutionally obligated to do so. Shortly after Lee v. Weisman but before Santa Fe, the Fifth Circuit reconsidered a challenge to a school's policy of allowing seniors to choose student volunteers to de­ liver "nonsectarian, nonproslytizing" prayers at their graduation ceremony. The court approved the policy, finding that its secular purpose was to "solemnize the occasion," that there was little likelihood that its primary effect would be to advance religion, and that there was no official endorsement of religion since the decision of whether to have prayers was left to the students.30 However, both the Third and Ninth Circuits came to the opposite conclusion in pre-Santa Fe cases: student-initiated prayers at graduation ceremonies violated both the purpose and primary effect tests and were therefore unconstitutional.31 Following Santa Fe, in Adler v. Duval County School Board,32 the Eleventh Circuit concluded that student-initiated graduation prayers may be constitutionally permissi­ ble. The court found the policy in Adler distinguishable from Santa Fe because there was no official supervision of the selection of the speaker or the content of the speech. Also, the policy authorized only an "opening and closing message" without reference to an invocation or prayer. The Adler court refused to read Santa Fe as saying that speech is state-sponsored simply because it is authorized by government policy and takes place on government property. Only state control over the content of the message turns private speech into state speech. Moments of Silence

In response to rulings against organized prayer in public schools, some states and school districts have incorporated moments of silence into their programs. In Wallace v. Jaffree, 3 3 the Supreme Court considered the issue of whether an Alabama law autho­ rizing public schools to incorporate "a period of silence for 'meditation or voluntary prayer' is a law respecting the establishment of religion within the meaning of the First Amendment." Based on the specific wording of this moment of silence statute and the legislative history of its adoption, the Court concluded that the law had no secular pur­ pose. The law's sponsor had said that it was an "effort to return voluntary prayer to the schools." The specific mention of prayer in the law indicated that the state intended to characterize prayer as a favored practice. Wrote the Court, "Such an endorsement is not consistent with the established principle that Government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion." Of great interest in the opinion, however, is the implication that a state statute that only authorized a moment of silence—without any reference to prayer—might be constitutional. Other federal courts have found formally organized moments of silence unconstitu­ tional if their purpose was to encourage prayer.34 The Fourth Circuit, however, upheld a Virginia statute that required schools to establish a "minute of silence" so that "each pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract, or impede other pupils in the like exercise of individual choice."35 Despite the reference to prayer in the stat­

OBJECTIONS TO RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

25

ute, the court concluded that it did not have a religious purpose because the text of the statute was religiously neutral. The law served the secular purposes of permitting non­ religious meditation and of accommodating religion, which the court said was a "secu­ lar purpose in that it fosters the liberties secured by the Constitution." The legislative history of the statute also indicated the secular purpose of providing a transitional mo­ ment to enable students to compose themselves and focus on the day ahead. Bible Study The Schempp opinion includes the statement that the study of the Bible is permissible "when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education." This statement has tempted some schools to use Bible study as a ruse for the promotion of religion. Courts have consistently declared unconstitutional programs of Bible instruction in which the hiring and supervision of teachers and the selection of materials was con­ trolled by a private religious group. Instructors for a course that studies the Bible may not be hired on the basis of their religious belief and religious tenets cannot be ad­ vanced in the course. If religious materials are merely used as examples of a type of lit­ erature or as part of a study of secular history, world cultures, or comparative religion, then the Constitution has not been violated.36 Thus, a federal district court in New Jer­ sey rejected a challenge to a school's posting of calendars that recognized a variety of national, cultural, ethnic, and religious holidays.37 In fact, the systematic deletion of all religious materials from the curriculum would raise a constitutional problem if moti­ vated by hostility toward religion. School officials sometimes permit or even encourage outside organizations, such as the Gideons, to distribute free Bibles to students on school grounds. In 1977, the Fifth Circuit Court prohibited a Bible distribution program, citing three other cases that reached the same conclusion. In reaching its decision, the court stressed that the school's distribution program was not neutral; rather, it was favorable the Gideon movement and religion generally.38 In a similar, more recent decision, the Seventh Cir­ cuit blocked a Bible distribution program within the fifth grade classrooms of a school.39 However, in other cases, Bible distribution has been permitted in school hall­ ways or grounds where access has been granted to other outside organizations such as the Boy Scouts and where students are free to accept Bibles or not.40 Religious Holidays and Music Is it permissible to close schools for religious holidays? Although there has not been litigation specifically addressing the ubiquitous practice of closing school on and around Christmas, it seems likely that it would be judged constitutionally permissible because, in addition to its religious significance, Christmas has become an important secular celebration in the United States and much of the world.41 That it would be im­ possible to provide a safe school environment on Christmas because so many teachers would be absent provides an additional justification for closing the school. The same reasoning might apply to Easter, but the issue is moot because schools are closed on Sundays anyway.

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Structuring the school calendar around other religious holidays is more problem­ atic. The safe-environment argument might apply to any holiday that most teachers would take anyway. Also, closing school on any day that the state has declared a legal holiday is probably permissible. A federal district court in Hawaii upheld a state law that made Good Friday a legal (and school) holiday, saying that Good Friday had the same constitutional standing as Thanksgiving and Christmas.42 However, the Seventh Circuit reached the opposite conclusion and specifically rejected the argument that Good Friday was like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Good Friday, said the court, "is a day of solemn religious observance, and nothing else, for believing Christians, and no one else."43 Despite, or perhaps because of, its dual status as a religious and secular holiday, Christmas creates difficult legal and political problems when it is celebrated at school. What symbols of Christmas and the Christmas season may a school display? The con­ fusion of constitutional doctrine in this area was evident in County of Allegheny v. A CLU, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter44 when a fragmented Supreme Court prohibited the display of a creche in a courthouse, but upheld the display of a menorah and Christ­ mas tree outside another public building. What acknowledgments of the origins and meaning of Christmas are permissible in school? When does a "holiday pageant" be­ come too much like a religious service to be allowed? In Florey v. Sioux Falls School District, 49-5,45 the Eighth Circuit considered the constitutionality of a set of policies and rules adopted by a school district to regulate the religious content in school programs and holiday celebrations. The plaintiffs ob­ jected to rules permitting activities like the singing of Christmas carols and other "ob­ servations" of religious holidays. After examining the history of the adoption of the policy, the court accepted the district's claim that the purpose of the policy was "to ad­ vance the students' knowledge and appreciation of the role that our religious heritage has played in the social, cultural and historical development of civilization." Noting that the rules specifically prohibited any devotional activities and required that any re­ ligious content be "presented objectively as part of a secular program of education," the court further agreed with the district that the primary effect of the policy would be to accomplish the policy's stated purpose, not to advance or inhibit religion. Finally, the court found that the policy would not foster excessive entanglement between church and school. Based on its understanding of the Lemon test, the Eighth Circuit found the policy evaluated in Florey and the activities that it permitted not to be in violation of the Es­ tablishment Clause. Most courts would probably agree that the Constitution does not require the removal from the school program of all activities that have any association with the celebration of religious holidays. However, schools and individual teachers are prohibited from sponsoring programs or activities that have a purpose or primary effect of promoting (or discouraging) religious belief. The study and performance of religious music raises particularly tricky issues. Much of the music regularly used in many public schools was originally written to promote religion and continues to play a part in religious observances. However, some of the same music is part of the secular U.S. culture. Certainly, as the Florey opinion suggests, a school's music program should not have the appearance of a re­ ligious ceremony, even a nondenominational one. However, schools need not

RELIGIOUS AND MORAL OBJECTIONS TO COURSE CONTENT AND MATERIALS

27

avoid all songs that mention religious holidays or symbols or even music with litur­ gical origins. In 1997, the Tenth Circuit rejected a challenge to a Salt Lake City high school's per­ formance of "many" pieces of religious music and to its presentation of concerts in churches and other religious venues.46 In another case, the Fifth Circuit approved the use of a piece entitled, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You," as the theme song of a high school choir.47 These cases indicate that the use of religious music is generally permissi­ ble as long as it is part of a secular program of music instruction and performance. 2.4

RELIGIOUS AND MORAL OBJECTIONS TO COURSE CONTENT AND MATERIALS

The last section considered objections to prayer and other traditional religious prac­ tices in the school. This section addresses the issues raised by the teaching of courses, theories, or topics and the use of materials claimed to promote or denigrate religious beliefs or practices. Plaintiffs may argue that the Establishment Clause prohibits shap­ ing the curriculum in accordance with religious doctrine, for example, by prohibiting the teaching of evolution or requiring creation science. Other plaintiffs rely on the Free Exercise Clause to seek exemption from unwanted topics and materials. Evolution and Creationism Christian fundamentalism, characterized by a literal interpretation of the Bible, is a sig­ nificant force in U.S. social and political life. Some fundamentalists have sought at times to shape the curriculum of the public schools in accordance with their religious beliefs. In Epperson v. Arkansas,48 the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of an Arkansas law that made it illegal for a public school teacher "to teach the theory or doc­ trine that mankind ascended or descended from a lower order of animals," that is, the theory of evolution. The case was brought by a biology teacher who was placed in an untenable position when her school district adopted a biology textbook containing a chapter on evolution. Thus, she was both required to and prohibited from teaching the theory. Although affirming the general right of the state "to prescribe the curriculum for its public schools," the Court pointed out that the state's power over curriculum is limited by the mandates of the Establishment Clause. To determine whether the First Amendment had been violated, the Court considered the origin and purpose of the law: In the present case, there can be no doubt that Arkansas has sought to prevent its teachers from discussing the theory of evolution because it is contrary to the belief of some that the Book of Genesis must be the exclusive source of doctrine as to the origin of man. No sug­ gestion has been made that Arkansas' law may be justified by considerations of state pol­ icy other than the religious views of some of its citizens. It is clear that fundamentalist sectarian conviction was and is the law's reason for existence.... Arkansas' law cannot be defended as an act of religious neutrality. Arkansas did not seek to excise from the curricula of its schools and universities all discussion of the origin of man. The law's effort was confined to an attempt to blot out a particular theory because of its supposed conflict with the Biblical account, literally read.

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Having found no secular purpose to support the antievolution law, the Court resolved the teacher's dilemma by finding the law unconstitutional. Epperson has been the basis of several lower court opinions blocking school boards from accommodating the religious preferences of parents by removing materials, top­ ics, or courses from the curriculum.49 However, at least one circuit court decision af­ firms the legitimacy of permitting all people, even those with religious motivations, to have the opportunity to influence educational policy. The case involved a challenge to a school board rule, adopted against a background of local church opposition to social dancing, that barred the use of school facilities for dancing. Plaintiffs claimed that the no-dancing rule was religiously motivated, but the court concluded that there was in­ sufficient proof that the rule had been adopted for religious reasons: The mere fact a governmental body takes action that coincides with the principles or de­ sires of a particular religious group, however, does not transform the action into an im­ permissible establishment of religion.... We simply do not believe elected governmental officials are required to check at the door whatever religious background (or lack of it) they carry with them before they act on rules that are otherwise unobjectionable under the controlling Lemon standards. In addition to its unrealistic nature, this approach to consti­ tutional analysis would have the effect of disenfranchising religious groups when they succeed in influencing secular decisions.50

Because Epperson effectively prevented legislatures from barring the teaching of evolution, several fundamentalist groups have attempted to use judicial means to elimi­ nate its instruction. In Wright v. Houston Independent School District,51 the plaintiffs claimed that the uncritical teaching of evolution, ignoring the biblical account of cre­ ation, established the religion of secularism. The district court disagreed, saying it was "not the business of the government to suppress real or imagined attacks upon a particu­ lar religious doctrine. Teachers of science in the public schools should not be expected to avoid the discussion of every scientific issue on which some religion claims expertise."52 The unsuccessful effort to obtain legislative or judicial elimination of evolution from the public school curriculum has prompted a different strategy; namely, to get the state legislature to require the teaching of scientific creationism as an alternative the­ ory. These "balanced treatment" laws have required, for example, that if evolution is taught, then scientific creationism also must be taught. However, the courts have nulli­ fied balanced treatment laws because, as the Supreme Court explained in Edwards v. Aguillard,53 their purpose was "to advance the religious viewpoint that a supernatural being created humankind" and thus, to promote religion. The Court summarized its conclusion as follows: [T]he Purpose of the Creationism Act was to restructure the science curriculum to con­ form with a particular religious viewpoint. Out of many possible science subjects taught in the public schools, the legislature chose to affect the teaching of the one scientific the­ ory that historically has been opposed by certain religious sects.

Disappointed with the outcome of Edwards, a school board in Louisiana adopted a policy that required its teachers to read the following "disclaimer" every time evolu­ tion was mentioned in one of its classrooms:

RELIGIOUS AND MORAL OBJECTIONS TO COURSE CONTENT AND MATERIALS

29

It is hereby recognized by the Tangipahoa Board of Education that the lesson to be pre­ sented, regarding the origin of life and matter, is known as the Scientific Theory of Evolu­ tion and should be presented to inform students of the scientific concept and is not intended to influence or dissuade the Biblical version of Creation or any other concept.

In Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education,54 the Fifth Circuit found that the disclaimer policy violated the Establishment Clause. The policy had the purpose and effect, not of promoting critical thinking as the board claimed, but of protecting and maintaining religious belief. Secular Humanism, Atheism, and Free Exercise of Religion

Some plainitiffs have argued that a public school's program violates the Establishment Clause by promoting the religion of secular humanism. In Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County,55 a group of parents challenged the constitutionality of using home economics textbooks that they claimed implied that moral decisions could be made without reference to God and history books said to "uniformly ignore the religious aspect of most American culture." The plaintiffs argued that the primary effect of these books was to promote secular and atheistic beliefs. They demanded that the school provide their children with alternative materials consistent with their reli­ gious beliefs. In rejecting the plaintiffs' claims and demands, the court pointed out that nearly ev­ erything taught at school inevitably will be either consistent or inconsistent with some religious belief. For example, the teaching that murder is wrong is consistent with the belief of many religions. However, the Establishment Clause does not require schools to avoid teaching about or even taking a position on issues about which some religion may have also taken a stand. It is only required that schools remain separate and neutral relative to religion. Closely related to the issue raised in Smith is the question of whether it is permissi­ ble for schools to display images and symbols of fictional or hypothetical supernatural beings or to read materials concerning magic, fantasy, and the supernatural. Courts have uniformly rejected claims by parents that such activities as posting Halloween symbols at school, using a "Blue Devil" as a school mascot, and reading stories about witches and sorcerers were violations of the Establishment Clause.56 Despite these rul­ ings, some school boards and schools have adopted policies banning all mention of the supernatural in the classroom. Such a ban may be legally impermissible if its purpose is to make the curriculum consistent with religious beliefs. The question becomes more complex if students are asked not merely to read, but to participate in ceremonies or rituals. One federal district court concluded the Establish­ ment Clause was violated when as part of an "Earth Day Ritual" students were asked to construct a structure that the court said was equivalent to an altar and to participate in a ceremony at which the teacher said, "We came from the earth, we are part of the earth, we are all involved in this cycle. One day we will become dead; then we'll go back to the earth." The district court found that the ceremony promoted the religion of Gaia. However, the Second Circuit reversed the ruling, concluding that the Earth Day cere­ monies were only intended to promote conservation and respect for the earth. State

30

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law, the court noted, required schools to engage pupils in exercises that encouraged in­ terest in, knowledge of, and protection of the planet The ceremony did not promote the belief that the earth possessed supernatural powers or should be worshiped, and the "altar" was a tepee. Relying on Supreme Court precedent, the court noted that the Es­ tablishment Clause is not violated merely because a statement either is in agreement with or is in disagreement with a given religious tenet.57 Not all religious objections to school programs are based on the Establishment Clause. In Mozert v. Hawkins County Board of Education,58 the Sixth Circuit consid­ ered a claim by students and parents that being forced to participate in programs de­ signed to promote critical thinking, tolerance, and moral development and to read material that exposed them to ideas and values that contradicted their religious beliefs violated their right to free exercise of religion. Plaintiffs argued that the school had an obligation to provide their children with an alternative program consistent with their religious beliefs, but the court found that the plaintiffs had not shown that the school's programs and materials placed a burden on their religious practices or beliefs. Expo­ sure to contrary views, explained the court, is not the same as compulsion to believe. As Mozert implies, courts are unlikely to grant religion-based exemptions to school programs designed to teach tolerance or other secular community values. Sex Education Sex education has been a frequent target of religion-based parental objection. In Cornwell v. State Board of Education,59 parents argued that a program of "family life and sex education" violated the Establishment Clause. The court disagreed: "... [T]he purpose and primary effect here is not to establish any particular religious dogma or precept, and the [program] does not directly or substantially involve the state in reli­ gious exercises or in the favoring of religion or any particular religion." Whereas the Cornwell plaintiffs sought complete elimination of sex education from the school pro­ gram, other parents have tried to exempt only their own children. In Valent v. New Jer­ sey State Board of Education,60 the court rejected the argument that required instruction in sex education violated plaintiffs' free exercise rights. A 1995 case involved an "AIDS awareness program" that included frank and graphic discussions of various sexual and other bodily functions and an emphasis on "safe sex" rather than abstinence. Parents objected both on free exercise grounds and on the grounds that exposing their children to the program without their permission vi­ olated their Fourteenth Amendment right to control their children's upbringing, but the court disagreed: "If all parents had a fundamental constitutional right to dictate in­ dividually what the schools teach their children, the schools would be forced to create a curriculum for each student whose parents had genuine moral disagreements with the school's choice of subject matter."61 Even condom distribution programs have survived claims that they violated par­ ents' free exercise rights; however, parents have sometimes prevailed when they ar­ gued that condom distribution programs violated their right to direct the upbringing of their child or to be informed of the medical care offered to their child.62

FREE SPEECH AND RELATED OBJECTIONS TO PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

31

Is there any way to calculate the net effect of the cases discussed in this section? Do these opinions require that secular humanism be taught in the public schools? Do they eliminate all traces of the United States' religious heritage from the public schools? The answer to the latter two questions is no. On the one hand, schools may not tailor their programs in accordance with religious beliefs, offer religious instruction or theis­ tic moral training, or endorse the Bible as the only true source of knowledge. On the other hand, schools may not systematically purge the curriculum of all mention of reli­ gion or ideas that are consistent with religious belief, endorse atheism, or declare that science is the only real source of knowledge or that the Bible is not true. Thus, the Con­ stitution excludes from the classroom both proreligion bias and the antireligion senti­ ments of some secular humanists. Schools are free to teach the importance of critical thinking, reasoning, and the need for personal inquiry and choice. They may teach tolerance, open-mindedness, and re­ ceptivity to different cultures and values. (Although some may see these views as secu­ lar, notice that they are consistent with the teachings of many religions.) Schools are also free to teach much of the agenda of many traditional religious groups, such as pa­ triotism, family values, and the duty to obey the law. Concerning sex education, the Constitution permits a range of choices: states may require schools to instruct their pu­ pils in contraception and the prevention of AIDS, offer a program that discourages all extramarital sex, or teach that individuals must make their own choices in matters of sex. In the absence of state guidelines, local schools are free to adopt any of these op­ tions or to exclude sex education from their program. Inevitably, some of what is taught in public schools will violate the personal and moral convictions of some parents. Parts of the public school curriculum will be con­ sistent with the beliefs of some religions and parts will contradict religious doctrine. Parents have no constitutional right to insist that their children be exempt from partici­ pation in educational programs that are inconsistent with their personal or religious convictions; however, no curriculum may be selected because it agrees with or op­ poses any religious or antireligious belief. 2.5

FREE SPEECH AND RELATED OBJECTIONS TO PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

Although the religion clauses have been the primary basis for constitutional challenges to school programs, the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech also has been the basis of several significant attacks. In these cases, the Free Speech Clause is used in an atypical way. Rather than assert a right to express their own ideas, plaintiffs claim either a right not to be forced to express a particular idea (i.e., a right not to speak) or a right to be exposed to the ideas of others (i.e., a right to hear or to know). (See chap. 3 for a general discussion of the rights of students to express themselves and chap. 7 re­ garding the free speech rights of teachers.) The Right Not To Speak

The first Supreme Court case to apply the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech to students at school was West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette,63

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in which the Court prohibited the state from compelling the students in its schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. In doing so, the Court specifically reversed a ruling it had made only three years earlier.64 Although Barnette as brought by a group of Jehovah's Witnesses who objected to the Pledge of Allegiance requirement on religious grounds, the Court based its ruling on free speech. The Court noted that the state has every right to adopt a curriculum de­ signed to "inspire patriotism and love of country" by such traditional educational methods as teaching about the constitutional guarantees of civil liberties. "Here, how­ ever," wrote the Court, "we are dealing with a compulsion of students to declare a be­ lief.... To sustain the compulsory flag salute, we are required to say that a Bill of Rights, which guards the individual's right to speak his own mind, left it open to public authorities to compel him to utter what is not in his mind." Moreover, the Court noted that, "the power of compulsion is invoked without any allegation that remaining pas­ sive during a flag ritual creates a clear and present danger...." Thus, concluded the Court, although the state's purpose in requiring a flag salute was valid, its methods overstepped constitutional bounds: If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other mat­ ters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.

This principle of freedom of thought and expression is so important, said the Court, that it has been given a special status outside of the democratic decision process: The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissi­ tudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, lib­ erty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections....

Finally, the Court rejected the idea that because they are dealing with minor stu­ dents, schools and educators should be exempt from the restrictions of the Bill of Rights: "That they are educating the young for citizenship is reason for scrupulous pro­ tection of Constitutional freedoms of the individual, if we are not to strangle the free mind at its source and teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes." Since Barnette, schools have been prohibited from insisting that students partici­ pate in flag salutes or other patriotic ceremonies. Students may not be forced to stand during the ceremony or to leave the room if they choose not to participate.65 Whether it is permissible to include a flag salute in a school's daily program, as many schools do and some states require, has become controversial in recent years. Several courts have upheld school-sponsored recitation of the Pledge against the claim that its reference to God (which was not in the Pledge when Barnette was decided) violates the Establish­ ment Clause.66 But the Ninth Circuit has concluded that the use of the Pledge in public schools does violate the Establishment Clause. The court found that the phrase "under God" had both the purpose and primary effect of promoting religion and that in a

FREE SPEECH AND RELATED OBJECTIONS TO PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

33

school setting, there was inevitable coercion to participate in the flag-salute ceremony. The court noted that President Eisenhower when signing the bill amending the Pledge to include the phrase "under God" said, "From this day forward the millions of children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty."67 Barnette has often been cited by the Supreme Court when prohibiting government practices that have the effect of forcing people to espouse a political belief, support a candidate, or display a political slogan against their will.68 However, except for the prohibition against compelled recitation of the Pledge, the right not to speak has had little effect on the program of schools. In a 1993 case, the Third Circuit rejected a claim based on Barnette that a school's program of compulsory community service required students to embrace and express a belief in the value of altruism. The court concluded that "There is no basis in the record to support the argument that the students who participate in the program are obliged to express their belief, either orally or in writing, in the value of community service. Nor was evidence produced that people in the community would perceive their participa­ tion in the program as an intended expression of a particularized message of their belief in community service and altruism."69 Community service requirements have also pre­ vailed against the argument that they violate parents' rights to control the upbringing of their children and against the novel argument that they violate the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition of involuntary servitude.70 Arguably, Barnette might prohibit teachers from insisting that students give "ideo­ logically correct" answers on an examination. Students might object to payment of a fee used to support a newspaper or speakers whose politics they oppose. Although nei­ ther of these issues has been litigated in the context of public schools, similar cases in­ volving public colleges suggest that the latter argument might succeed.71 Despite Barnette, schools remain free to promote patriotic beliefs and community values. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits schools from urging students to support the country or its policies, but students must not be required or coerced to say that they will do so. The Right To Hear

Courts have taken a variety of positions on whether and to what extent the Constitution places limits on the school board's authority to reject or eliminate books and other ma­ terials from the curriculum or school library. A California court avoided reaching a constitutional decision by ruling that the local school board did not have statutorily delegated authority to remove books it judged socially unacceptable. The board was, however, found to have authority to remove books judged obscene for minors.72 In President's Council v. Community School Board, No. 25,73 the Second Circuit found that removal from the school library of a book judged "offensive" by the school board raised no substantial constitutional issue. The court reasoned that removal of books was an academic decision and that, although it was sure to be controversial at times, the judiciary should avoid "intrusion into the internal affairs of school." However, in Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District,74 the Sixth Circuit found that the stu­

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dents' First Amendment "right to know" prohibited removal of books based on the "so­ cial and political tastes of school board members." In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. ,75 the Seventh Circuit developed a set of guidelines for determining whether a school board's removal of curricular materials overstepped constitutional bounds. The court found that although school boards gen­ erally enjoy wide latitude to determine what material may be used in their schools, they may not "substitute a rigid and exclusive indoctrination for the mere existence of their prerogative to make pedagogic choices regarding matters of legitimate dispute," im­ pose "religious or scientific orthodoxy or ... a desire to eliminate a particular kind of inquiry generally," or "exclude a particular type of thought, or even ... some identifi­ able ideological preference." In 1981, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of a school board's censorship of li­ brary books in Board of Education v. Pico.76 The case was brought by a group of stu­ dents who claimed that their free speech rights were violated when the school board, at the urging of a politically conservative lobbying organization, ordered nine books re­ moved from the school library. Although a committee convened by the board to con­ sider the matter had recommended retaining most of the books, the school board justified its actions by declaring that the books were "anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Sem[i]tic, and just plain filthy." Pico produced no majority opinion. Although five of the nine justices agreed that the Constitution placed some limits on a school board's authority to remove books from its schools' libraries, they could not agree on an appropriate test for determin­ ing those limitations. The non-precedent-setting plurality opinion sought to balance the authority of the school board to attempt to prepare students for adult citizenship by inculcating them with democratic values with the students' right to receive ideas. The right to receive ideas, said the opinion, "follows ineluctably from the sender's First Amendment right to send them." The plurality emphasized that unlike partici­ pation in the classroom curriculum, use of the library was completely voluntary and offered the students an opportunity for self-education and individual enrichment. Whereas the plurality felt that the library's unique role required tolerating a broader spectrum of opinion than was necessary in other aspects of the curriculum, the dis­ senting justices believed that the school board should be free to remove books that conflicted with their social, political, or moral views from any aspect of the school's program, including the library. The Court's plurality opinion (recall that plurality opinions do not create precedent as majority opinions of the Supreme Court do) advocated a motivational test: [School authorities] rightly possess significant discretion to determine the content of their school libraries. But ... [o]ur Constitution does not permit the official suppression of ideas. Thus whether petitioners' removal of books from their school libraries denied respondents their First Amendment rights depends upon the motivation behind petition­ ers' actions. If petitioners intended by their removal decision to deny respondents access to ideas with which petitioners disagreed, and if this intent was the decisive factor in peti­ tioners' decision, then petitioners have exercised their discretion in violation of the Con­ stitution.... On the other hand, ... an unconstitutional motivation would not be demonstrated if ... petitioners ... decided to remove the books at issue because those books were pervasively vulgar [or] based solely upon the "educational suitability" of the books....

FREE SPEECH AND RELATED OBJECTIONS TO PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

35

In addition to its failure to establish precedent, the usefulness of Pico is limited by the plurality's insistence that its reasoning applied only to the removal of books from the school library and not to the purchase of books or removal of classroom materials. Fur­ thermore, recent decisions on related matters suggest that today's Supreme Court has moved closer to the position of the Pico dissenters: school boards enjoy broader discre­ tion in controlling all aspects of the curriculum than the Pico plurality would have al­ lowed (see discussion of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier in sec. 3.3). This approach is reflected in Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County.77 In Virgil, the Eighth Circuit upheld the decision of a school board to remove from the curriculum an anthology that had been used as the textbook in a high school humanities course. The board had taken its action against the advice of the district's textbook review com­ mittee because of concerns over "sexually explicit content" and "excessive vulgarity" in selections such as Lysistrata and The Miller's Tale. Although the court questioned the wisdom of the school board's action, it concluded that the school board had acted within its authority because the removal was "reasonably related to legitimate peda­ gogical concerns." Whether the Virgil court would have ruled the same way if the school board had removed the books because it disagreed with their political and social viewpoints (e.g., the antiwar message of Lysistrata) is not clear. School boards undoubtedly have broad leeway to control all aspects of their cur­ ricula as long as they act on the basis of legitimate pedagological concerns. In partic­ ular, all courts seem to agree with Virgil that books judged obscene, vulgar, or sexually offensive may be removed from the classroom or library. Likewise, the pro­ hibition of school theatrical productions considered vulgar or age-inappropriate has generally been allowed.78 However, no court has yet rejected the Pico plurality's view that "If a Democratic school board, motivated by party affiliation, ordered the removal of all books written by or in favor of Republicans, few would doubt that the order violated the constitutional rights of the students denied access to these books." In fact, even the main dissenting opinion in Pico, written by now Chief Justice Rehnquist, affirmed this dictum. A few courts have imposed procedural due process requirements on school boards desiring to censor books. One court said the board could remove books from the library only by following preestablished, nonvague guidelines.79 Another court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was violated when the board failed to follow its own procedures for the removal of books.80 However, not all courts concur in these judgments.81 Whether constitutionally required or not, the establishment of and adherence to a definite set of procedures for dealing with requests to censor books seems a sound policy. The desire of educators and legislators to make the Internet available to students at school but to limit their access to certain types of materials has created new legal is­ sues. The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)82 permits schools to receive fed­ eral financial assistance in obtaining Internet access if the school agrees to use filtering software that blocks all access to legally obscene material and child pornog­ raphy and to bar children from access to material that is "harmful to minors." In United States v. American Library Ass 'n,83 the Supreme Court ruled that placing these conditions on the availability of federal funds is not a violation of free speech. The decision further suggests that schools and public libraries have the right to place

36

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the same kind of restrictions on their collection of printed materials. Despite this case, schools are not permitted to enforce limitations on access to Internet sites (or printed materials), except those sanctioned by CIPA, because of official disagree­ ment with ideas expressed on the sites. Control of access to Web sites must be based on legitimate pedagogical concerns.

2.6

OBJECTIONS TO DISCRIMINATORY MATERIAL

Only a few courts have dealt with claims that methods of curriculum development, ma­ terials selection, or a curriculum itself violates the Equal Protection Clause by being racially or sexually biased. In Loewen v. Turnipseed,84 plaintiffs challenged the book selection policy of a statewide textbook commission. Although it had authority to ap­ prove up to five books, the commission selected only one, Your Mississippi, for use in a required state history course. The authors and publishers of a competing book, Missis­ sippi: Conflict and Change, together with parents, students, and local officials, charged that the approved book deprecated Blacks and championed White supremacy and that the commission had acted for racial reasons. The district court agreed that the rating process had been racially motivated. The vote was split along racial lines, with the commission's five White members refusing to rate Conflict and Change despite its having received favorable reviews and the two Black members supporting its adoption. Comments of the White members also indicated that they opposed Conflict and Change for racial reasons. The court ordered that both books be listed as approved and eligible for adoption by local school districts. The Loewen court avoided confronting the most difficult issues that could arise in this kind of case: whether a particular book or course is itself racially, sexually, or ethically biased and, if so, whether public schools are prohibited by the Constitution from offering a curriculum biased against a racial or gender group. It is far from clear what standards would govern these issues. Take, for example, Mark Twain's classic novel, Huckleberry Finn with its repeated use of the term "nigger." Is it a candidate for judicial censure on the ground that the use of such a term in public schools carries a message of racial inferiority in violation of the Equal Protection Clause? Consider another example: the portrayal of Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The use of this play and Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist was in fact the subject of a legal challenge on the ground that these books projected an invidious image of Jews.85 In a nonconstitutional decision, the court ruled that the play and book could be used because there was no evidence that the authors' intentions were antisemitic. Would the court have banned the works if antisemitic intentions had been discovered? What of books and plays that have only male heroes—are they discriminatory to­ ward women? Or what of history books that contain few references to Native Ameri­ cans? What of Black literature critical of Whites and feminist writings critical of males—are these to be banned on the ground that they discriminate against one group or another? It is doubtful that courts will address these concerns except perhaps in the most blatant cases. One court has ruled that a school's use of materials expressing a ra­ cially biased point of view does not violate either the Equal Protection Clause of the

FEDERAL STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS ON SCHOOL PROGRAMS

37

Constitution or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (see sec. 5.8) unless done with an intent to discriminate.86 In the absence of judicial guidelines, the responsibility for the provision of an un­ biased and sound curriculum rests with state and local education decision makers. For example, because in all likelihood courts will neither prohibit the use of Huckle­ berry Finn nor block its removal from the school, education officials are faced with the choice of requiring students to read the book, making it available to those who want it without requiring it, or not even having it available. Although neither the law nor education theory mandates a particular course of action, this and all other curric­ ular decisions should be made after reflective deliberations on the literary, social, and historical significance of the books, materials, and topics under consideration and not in panicked response to the demands of small groups of parents, students, or patrons. 2.7

FEDERAL STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS ON SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Several federal laws regulate the education that states and school districts must provide to children with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. These laws are examined in detail in Chapter 6. Four additional federal statutes bear directly on the school's authority to control its own program and materials: the No Child Left Behind Act, the Copyright Act, the Equal Access Act, and the Hatch Amendment. The No Child Left Behind Act and the Curriculum

The federal statute known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)87 is the 2001 revi­ sion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) first passed in 1965. NCLB is a complex piece of legislation that combines a grant program (the former Title I program) directed toward schools with high concentrations of students in pov­ erty, a new assessment, accountability, and reform system, and a number of other pro­ visions that affect many aspects of school operations. The grant program and accountability component together are designed to promote reform in high-poverty schools and to ensure all students access to "scientifically based instructional strate­ gies" and challenging academic content. The ultimate goal is to bring all students to a state-specified level of proficiency by 2014. This section reviews the aspects of NCLB that affect the general school curriculum. Other aspects of NCLB are addressed throughout the book (see index). The new assessment, accountability, and school-improvement system that has be­ come a requirement for the receipt of the grant money under NCLB represents a farreaching expansion of federal control over public education. The assessment and ac­ countability systems include requirements that states and school districts: • Adopt "challenging academic content standards" and "challenging student aca­ demic achievement standards" regarding what children are to know and be able to do.

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• Establish "annual yearly progress" (AYP) objectives for all students and separate measurable annual objectives for disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. • Administer tests "aligned" with the state's standards annually to all students in grades 3-8 and at least once during high school to assess AYP in mathematics and reading or language arts. Science must also be tested, at least once during grades 3-5, once during grades 6-9, and once during grades 10-12. The assess­ ment of any student who has attended school in the United States for three or more consecutive years must be in English. (On a case-by-case basis individual students may be exempted from this requirement.) The English proficiency of students of limited English speaking ability must also be assessed annually. • Issue various reports detailing the assessment results, including: a report on each student for parents and teachers; assessment results disaggregated by gender, major racial and ethnic groups, English proficiency, migrant status, disability, and status as economically disadvantaged; and school, school district, and state report cards. • Continue to participate in the biennial National Assessment of Education Prog­ ress of reading and math for students in the 4th and 8th grades. The school-improvement provisions of NCLB include requirements that all teach­ ers of core academic subjects be "highly qualified" as defined by state standards and that poor and minority children are not disproportionately taught by unqualified, inex­ perienced, or out-of-field teachers. Professional development programs must be pro­ vided to increase the number of highly qualified teachers. Districts must see to it that all paraprofessionals complete two years of study at an institution of higher education. Parents have a legal right to receive information concerning the qualifications of their children's teachers if they request it. A school that fails to meet AYP for two consecutive years must be identified as needing improvement. The district and state must provide technical assistance to the school, and its pupils must be allowed to participate in a public school choice plan by the next school year. Schools that fail to meet AYP for three consecutive years must offer low-income families the opportunity to receive instruction from a "supplemen­ tal services provider" of their choice. Schools that fail to meet AYP for four consecu­ tive years must take one or more of a specified series of corrective actions, including replacing school staff, implementing a new curriculum, decreasing management au­ thority at the school level, appointing an outside expert to advise the school, extend­ ing the school day or year, and changing the school's internal organizational structure. Schools that fail to meet AYP for five consecutive years must be "restruc­ tured." Restructuring may include reopening the school as a charter school, replac­ ing all or most of the school's staff, or state takeover of school operations. Analogous requirements apply to districts that fail to meet AYP including, after four years, the possibility that students will be allowed to transfer to a higher-performing district. Section 7906 of NCLB88 provides that none of the funds authorized under the law shall be used:

FEDERAL STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS ON SCHOOL PROGRAMS

39

(1) to develop or distribute materials, or operate programs or courses of instruction di­ rected at youth, that are designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homo­ sexual or heterosexual; (2) to distribute or to aid in the distribution by any organization of legally obscene ma­ terials to minors on school grounds; (3) to provide sex education or HIV-prevention education in schools unless that in­ struction is age appropriate and includes the health benefits of abstinence; or (4) to operate a program of contraceptive distribution in schools.

Section 7904 of NCLB89 specifies that districts must "certify in writing to the State educational agency involved that no policy of the local educational agency prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public ele­ mentary schools and secondary schools, as detailed in the "Guidance" written by the Secretary of Education. Failure to comply with the Guidance can mean the loss of fed­ eral funds." The Guidance referred to in the law is a statement issued in February 2003 by the Secretary of Education that provides the Department of Education's interpreta­ tion of Supreme Court opinions reviewed in this chapter.90 It provides that: • Students may pray when not engaged in school activities or instruction, subject to the same rules designed to prevent material disruption of the educational pro­ gram that are applied to other privately initiated expressive activities. Among other things, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray or study religious materials with fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other non-instructional time to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious activities. • Students may organize prayer groups and religious clubs and these groups must be given the same access to school facilities as other groups. • When acting in their official capacities as representatives of the state, teachers, school administrators, and other school employees are prohibited by the Estab­ lishment Clause from encouraging or discouraging prayer, and from actively par­ ticipating in such activity with students. Teachers may, however, take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not partici­ pating in their official capacities. • If a school has a "minute of silence" or other quiet periods during the school day, students are free to pray silently, or not to pray, during these periods of time. Teachers and other school employees may neither encourage nor discourage stu­ dents from praying during such time periods. • It has long been established that schools have the discretion to dismiss students to off-premises religious instruction, provided that schools do not encourage or dis­ courage participation in such instruction or penalize students for attending or not attending. Similarly, schools may excuse students from class to remove a signifi­ cant burden on their religious exercise, where doing so would not impose mate­ rial burdens on other students. For example, it would be lawful for schools to excuse Muslim students briefly from class to enable them to fulfill their religious obligations to pray during Ramadan.

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• Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the reli­ gious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Thus, if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for example, a psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic standards (such as literary quality) and neither penalized nor rewarded on account of its religious content. • Student speakers at student assemblies and extracurricular activities such as sporting events may not be selected on a basis that either favors or disfavors reli­ gious speech. Where student speakers are selected on the basis of genuinely neu­ tral, evenhanded criteria and retain primary control over the content of their expression, that expression is not attributable to the school and therefore may not be restricted because of its religious (or anti-religious) content. • School officials may not mandate or organize prayer at graduation or select speak­ ers for such events in a manner that favors religious speech such as prayer. Where students or other private graduation speakers are selected on the basis of genuinely neutral, evenhanded criteria and retain primary control over the content of their ex­ pression, however, that expression is not attributable to the school and therefore may not be restricted because of its religious (or anti-religious) content. • School officials may not mandate or organize religious [baccalaureate] ceremo­ nies. However, if a school makes its facilities and related services available to other private groups, it must make its facilities and services available on the same terms to organizers of privately sponsored religious baccalaureate ceremonies. The Copyright Act The Copyright Act of 197691 is of particular importance to educators because it regu­ lates the duplication of materials for classroom use. A copyright gives its owner a prop­ erty interest in the copyrighted materials in much the same way one might own a house or a car. A copyright owner enjoys a set of "exclusive rights," including the right to re­ produce the work, to sell copies, and to perform or display the work publicly. Thus, the excessive duplication of copyrighted materials without permission can violate the law. However, under certain circumstances, the law does allow teachers to make copies of copyrighted materials for classroom use. The circumstances under which duplication is permitted are known as "fair use." The Copyright Act states that "the fair use of a copyrighted work ... for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright." To deter­ mine whether the use in any particular case is fair, four factors are considered: 1. The "purpose" and character of the use, including whether such use is of a "com­ mercial nature" or is "for nonprofit educational purposes." Copying for commer­ cial purposes is more strictly controlled than copying for educational purposes.

FEDERAL STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS ON SCHOOL PROGRAMS

41

2. The "nature" of the copyrighted work. Certain types of materials such as news­ paper articles and materials that are out of print lend themselves to fair use du­ plicating. 3. The "amount and substantiality of the portion used" in relation to the work as a whole. The more one takes from the copyrighted material and the more closely the taken portion represents the heart of the work, the greater the likelihood of copyright infringement. (This factor is discussed further later.) 4. The effect of the use upon the "potential market for or value of the copyrighted material. In order to clarify these factors, a congressional committee has developed addi­ tional guidelines that, although not binding, have been taken into account by the courts.92 These guidelines state that, for research or teaching purposes, teachers may make single copies of a chapter from a book, an article from a periodical or newspaper, a short story, short essay, or short poem, a chart, graph, diagram, or cartoon. A teacher may make multiple copies for classroom use only if the copying meets the tests for brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect. "Brevity" is defined to mean 250 words of a poem or not more than two pages of poetry; a complete article, story, or essay of fewer than 2,500 words; an excerpt often percent of a work or 1,000 words; or one graph or one cartoon. Copying is "spontane­ ous" when done at the inspiration of an individual teacher and when it occurs so close in time to the use of the work that it would be unreasonable to expect the teacher to obtain permission to copy. The "cumulative effect" limitation is violated if the copy­ ing is for more than one course in the school; more than one poem, story, or article or two excerpts are copied from the same author; more than three items are taken from a collective work or periodical volume during one class term; or if a teacher uses multi­ ple copies more than nine times in one course during one class term. All copying of copyrighted material must also conform to the following rules: (a) copies may not be used to create anthologies or other collective works; (b) consumable materials such as workbooks, tests, and answer sheets may not be copied; (c) copying may not be substituted for purchasing, be "directed by higher authority," or be re­ peated with the same item by the same teacher from term to term; (d) students may only be charged for the actual costs of duplication; and (e) each copy must include a notice of copyright. An additional set of guidelines applies to the copying of music. Music may be cop­ ied to replace purchased copies that are not immediately available for an imminent performance provided that purchased copies are substituted in due course. For aca­ demic purposes other than a performance, it is permissible to make one copy per stu­ dent consisting of up to ten percent of a whole work, provided the copied portion does not constitute a "performable unit." A teacher may make a single copy of a sound re­ cording for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations. A single copy of a performance of copyrighted materials by students may be made for evalua­ tion or rehearsal purposes. Finally, purchased or printed copies may be edited or sim­ plified as long as the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or any lyrics altered or added.

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The Equal Access Act The Equal Access Act (EAA)93 states in part that: It shall be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial as­ sistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings. EAA has several important limitations. It applies only to student groups, not to teach­ ers, patrons, or even groups with both student and outside members. The Act applies only to secondary schools and does not require schools to permit student-initiated groups to meet on campus. It does not supplant the school's authority to decide when and where student clubs may meet. However, if a school decides to establish a "limited open forum" (i.e., if it voluntarily chooses to permit any noncurricular student-initiated group to meet on campus) then it must afford equal opportunity to all nondisruptive, lawful stu­ dent groups. In Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens,94 the Supreme Court defined "noncurriculum related student group" to mean: any student group that does not directly relate to the body of courses offered by the school. In our view, a student group directly relates to a school's curriculum if the subject matter of the group is actually taught, or will soon be taught, in a regularly offered course; if the subject matter of the group concerns the body of courses as a whole; if participation in the group is required for a particular course; or if participation in the group results in academic credit. We think this limited definition of groups that directly relate to the cur­ riculum is a commonsense interpretation of the Act that is consistent with Congress' in­ tent to provide a low threshold for triggering the Act's requirements. For example, a French club would directly relate to the curriculum if a school taught French in a regularly offered course or planned to teach the subject in the near future. A school's student government would generally relate directly to the curriculum to the ex­ tent that it addresses concerns, solicits opinions, and formulates proposals pertaining to the body of courses offered by the school. If participation in a school's band or orchestra were required for the band or orchestra classes, or resulted in academic credit, then those groups would also directly relate to the curriculum. The existence of such groups at a school would not trigger the Act's obligations. On the other hand, unless a school could show that groups such as a chess club, a stamp collecting club, or a community service club fell within our description of groups that di­ rectly relate to the curriculum, such groups would be "noncurriculum related student groups" for purposes of the Act. The existence of such groups would create a "limited open forum" under the Act and would prohibit the school from denying equal access to any other student group on the basis of the content of that group's speech. Whether a spe­ cific student group is a "noncurriculum related student group" will therefore depend on a particular school's curriculum, but such determinations would be subject to factual find­ ings well within the competence of trial courts to make. Based on this definition, the Court ruled that denial of recognition to a student-initiated "Christian Club" by a school that recognized a variety of other noncurriculum-related student groups violated the EAA. The Court also rejected the contention that the Act it­ self violates the Establishment Clause.

SUMMARY

43

In Hsu v. Roslyn Union Free School District No. 3,95 the Second Circuit ruled that a school district violated the EAA when it refused to recognize a religious club because the constitution of that club specified that the club's officers must be Christians. The school district had denied recognition based on its nondiscrimination policy that pro­ hibited excluding students from extracurricular activities based on religion, among other factors. But the court concluded that the club's decision to allow only Christians to fill three officer positions was calculated to make a certain type of speech possible at the club meetings and thus to realize the rights protected by the EAA. In another EAA case, a federal district court ruled that a school could not require as a condition of access that a gay student organization change its name (it called it­ self the "Gay-Straight Alliance Club") and not talk about sex.96 On a different issue, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a school district created a limited open forum as defined by the EAA when it let a variety of voluntary, noncurriculum-related student groups use school facilities for meetings during the lunch hour. As a result, the school also had to permit a religious club the opportunity to meet during lunch.97 Subsequently, the same Circuit ruled that organizations protected by the EAA must be provided equal access to facilities, student publications such as the yearbook, equipment, ser­ vices, and even financial support. However, the court also ruled that EAA does not apply during hours when students are required to attend school.98 (See sec. 3.2 and 3.5 on related constitutional issues.) The Hatch Amendment

The Hatch Amendment,99 also known as the Protection of Pupils Rights Act, has two main provisions. The first requires that all instructional materials used by schools in connection with research or experimentation be available for parental inspection. The second prohibits subjecting any student to psychiatric or psychological testing or treat­ ment when the primary purpose is to obtain information concerning such matters as po­ litical affiliation; psychological problems; sexual behavior or attitudes; or illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior. A school's failure to comply with the law could result in the loss of federal funds. The law contains many undefined terms that make its interpretation difficult, and as a practical matter it seems to have lit­ tle effect on most schools. 2.8

SUMMARY

The state's power over the program of public schools is subject to few legal restrictions. Nevertheless, in practice, the states have chosen to delegate some of their power over curriculum to local school boards. To some extent, the federal government has also be­ come involved, mostly through categorical aid programs and restrictions attached to fed­ eral funds. Thus, decisions concerning standards, graduation requirements, mandated subjects, course content and perspectives, instructional methods, and materials are made through a complex process involving multiple levels of government. Most challenges to state and local school board authority over the public school pro­ gram are based on the religion clauses of the First Amendment. These cases are of two

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types. In one type, the plaintiffs rely on the Establishment Clause to object to orga­ nized prayers, Bible readings, moments of silence, dissemination of religious writ­ ings, and religious ceremonies in school. Many of these plaintiffs have succeeded. Using the Lemon test, courts prohibit the provision of any program whose purpose or primary effect is religious rather than secular. In the second type of case, the plaintiffs object to course content or materials al­ leged to inhibit or advance religion. Some of these plaintiffs have won, as when the Supreme Court nullified an Arkansas law prohibiting the teaching of evolution. The Court found that the law's only purpose was to prevent the teaching of a scientific theory that contradicted fundamentalist Christian belief. However, most Establish­ ment Clause objections to course content and materials have failed. Mere agreement or disagreement of a curriculum with the teachings of any particular religion or with religion in general is not an Establishment Clause violation as long as the curriculum has a secular purpose. In particular, plaintiffs arguing that curricula devoid of reli­ gious content, failing to mention God, or contradicting religious teachings establish a religion of secularism or secular humanism have not been successful. Similarly, when plaintiffs have claimed a free-exercise-based right not to be exposed to teach­ ings that contradict their religious beliefs or their moral convictions, courts have generally rejected their claims. Two types of free speech objections have been brought against school programs. In one, the plaintiffs claim a right not to be forced to espouse a political view against their will. The main application of this principle within the context of the public school is to prohibit requiring students to participate in a flag salute ceremony. The same principle might also prohibit requiring ideologically correct responses on an assignment or exam. The second type of free speech case is based on an alleged right to hear or to know. Most of these cases involve objections by student plaintiffs to school board decisions to remove books from the classroom or school library. Some library cases succeed when the court finds that the board's only motivation is a desire to suppress a disfavored political idea or theory. In general, however, courts give school boards broad latitude in selecting and discarding curricular materials, espe­ cially those judged obscene, vulgar, sexually offensive, or age inappropriate. Some courts do require that decisions to censor books be reached by applying preexisting, nonvague procedures. Schools' regulation of Internet use by their students is subject to constitutional and federal statutory restrictions. A final type of constitutional objection to school programs involves courses or materials alleged to discriminate against one or more racial, ethnic, or gender groups. Little case law exists in this area and courts are not likely to get involved in any but the most blatant cases, such as when biased materials are used with an intent to discriminate against a racial or ethnic minority. In general, decisions concerning the political and social perspectives of the curriculum are more issues of educational policy than law. Several federal laws place restrictions on state and local control of school programs. Of these laws, the most potentially significant is the No Child Left Behind Act, which includes a number of assessment, accountability, and school improvement require­ ments that may have far-reaching consequences for many schools.

NOTES

45

NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

KEN. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 160.345(2)(I)1,160.345(2)(I)(6), 160.345(2)(g). ILL. COMP. STAT. ANN.§ 5/34-2.let. seq. CONN. GEN. STAT. § 10-66dd. See, e.g., MICH. COMP. LAWS ANN. § 380.50let. seq. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202(1982). State ex rel. Andrews v. Webber, 8 N.E. 708 (Ind. 1886). Alexander v. Phillips, 254 P. 1056 (Ariz. 1927). Dawson v. East Side Union High Sch. Dist., 34 Cal. Rptr. 2d 108 (Cal. App. 6 Dist. 1994).

9. CAL EDUC. CODE § 305; ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 15-751. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

OKLA. STAT. TIT. 70, § 11-1-5.1. IDAHO CODE §33-1610. ALA. CODE § 16-40A-2. R.I. GEN. LAWS § 16-22-18. LA. REV. STAT. ANN.§ 17:28 1. Coleman v. Caddo Parish Sch. Bd., 635 So. 2d 1238 (La. Ct. App. 1994). Johnson v. Sch. Comm. of Brockton, 358 N.E.2d 820 (Mass. 1977); see also State ex rel. Mueller v. Common Sch. Bd. of Joint Sch. Dist. No. 2 of Princeton, 242 N.W. 574 (Wis. 1932); State ex rel. Thayer v. Sch. Dist. of Neb. City, 156 N.W. 641 (Neb. 1916). 17. See, e.g., MINN. STAT. ANN. § 15.141137. 18. 370 U.S. 421 (1962). 19. 374 U.S. 203(1963). 20. Lemon v Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971). 21. 449 U.S. 39 (1980). 22. Washegesic v. Bloomingdale Pub. Sch., 813 F. Supp. 559 (W.D. Mich. 1993), aff'd, 33 F.3d 679 (6th Cir. 1994). 23. 653 F.2d 897 (5th Cir. 1981), aff'd, 455 U.S. 913 (1982). 24. 644 F.2d 759 (9th Cir. 1981). 25. Breen v. Runkel, 614 F. Supp. 355 (W.D. Mich. 1985). 26. Jager v. Douglas County Sch. Dist., 862 F.2d 824 (11th Cir. 1989). 27. 505 U.S. 577(1992). 28. 530 U.S. 290 (2000). 29. 228 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir. 2000); see also Lassonde v. Pleasanton Unified Sch. Dist., 320 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2003). 30. Jones v. Clear Creek Indep. Sch. Dist., 977 F.2d 963 (5th Cir. 1992). 31. Am. Civil Liberties Union of N.J. v. Black Horse Pike Reg'l Bd. of Educ., 84 F.3d 1471 (3d Cir. 1996); Harris v. Joint Sch. Dist. No. 241,41 F.3d447 (9th Cir. 1994), vacated, 515 U.S. 1154(1995). 32. 250 F.3d 1330 (llth Cir. 2001). 33. 472 U.S. 38(1985). 34. Doe v. Sch. Bd. of Ouachita Parish, 274 F.3d 289 (5th Cir. 2001); May v. Cooperman, 780 F.2d 240 (3d Cir. 1985), appeal dismissed, 484 U.S. 72 (1987); Walter v. W. Va. Bd. of Educ., 610 F. Supp. 1169 (S.D. W. Va. 1985); but see Gaines v. Anderson, 421 F. Supp. 337 (D. Mass. 1976). 35. Brown v. Gilmore, 258 F.3d 265 (4th Cir. 2001). 36. Herdahl v. Pontotoc County Sch. Dist., 933 F. Supp. 582 (N.D. Miss. 1996); Hall v. Bd. of Sch. Comm'rs of Conecuh County, 656 F.2d 999 (5th Cir. Unit B Sept. 1981), modified, 707 F.2d 464 (11th Cir. 1983); Doe v. Human, 725 F. Supp. 1499 (W.D. Ark. 1989), and 725 F. Supp. 1503 (W.D. Ark. 1989), aff'd, 923 F.2d 857 (8th Cir. 1990); Crockett v. Sorenson, 568 F. Supp. 1422 (W.D. Vir. 1983); Wiley v. Franklin, 474 F. Supp. 525 (E.D. Tenn. 1979). 37. Clever v. Cherry Hill Township Bd. of Educ., 838 F. Supp. 929 (D.N.J. 1993). 38. Meltzer v. Bd. of Pub. Instruction of Orange County, 548 F.2d 559 (5th Cir. 1977), rev 'd inpart, 577 F.2d 311 (5th Cir. 1978) (en banc). 39. Berger v. Rennselaer Cent. Sch. Corp., 982 F.2d 1160 (7th Cir. 1993). 40. Peck v. Upshur County Bd. of Educ., 941 F. Supp. 1465 (N.D. W. Va. 1996); Schanou v. Lancaster County Sch. Dist. No. 160,863 F. Supp. 1048 (D. Neb. 1994), vacated, 62 F.3d 1040 (8th Cir. 1995). 41. Koenick v. Felton, 190 F.3d 259 (4th Cir. 1999).

46

42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49.

CHAPTER 2: CURRICULUM

Cammack v. Wahihee, 673 F. Supp. 1524 (D. Haw. 1987), aff'd, 932 F.2d 765 (9th Cir. 1991). Metzl v. Leininger, 57 F.3d 618 (7th Cir. 1995). 492 U.S. 573 (1989); see also Capitol Square Review Bd. v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753 (1995). 619 F.2d 1311 (8th Cir. 1980). Bauchman v. W. High Sch., 132 F.3d 542 (10th Cir. 1997). Doe v. Duncanville Indep. Sch. Dist., 70 F.3d 402 (5th Cir. 1995). 393 U.S. 97 (1968); see also Scopes v. State, 289 S.W. 363 (1927) (for historical background). Pratt v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 831, 670 F.2d 771 (8th Cir. 1982); Hopkins v. Hamden Bd. of Educ., 289 A.2d 914 (Conn. C.P. 1971). 50. Clayton v. Place, 884 F.2d 376 (8th Cir. 1989). 51. 366 F. Supp. 1208 (S.D. Tex. 1972), aff'd, 486 F.2d 137 (5th Cir. 1973). 52. See also Daniel v. Waters, 515 F.2d 485 (6th Cir. 1975). 53. 482 U.S. 578 (1987); see also McLean v. Ark. Bd. of Educ., 529 F. Supp. 1255 (E.D. Ark. 1982). 54. 185 F.3d 337 (5th Cir. 1999). 55. 655 F. Supp. 939 (S.D. Ala.), rev'd, 827 F.2d 684 (11th Cir. 1987). 56. Kunsehnan v. W. Reserve Local Sch. Dist., 70 F.3d 931 (6th Cir. 1995); Brown v. Woodland Joint Unified Sch. Dist., 27 F.3d 1373 (9th Cir. 1994); Fleischfresser v. Dirs. of Sch. Dist. 200, 15 F.3d 680 (7th Cir. 1994); Guyer v. Sch. Bd. of Alachua County, 634 So. 2d 806 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994). 57. Altman v. Bedford Cent. School Dist., 245 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2001). 58. 827 F.2d 1058 (6th Cir. 1987). 59. 314 F. Supp. 340 (D. Md. 1969), aff'd, 428 F.2d 471 (4th Cir. 1970). 60. 274 A.2d 832 (N.J. Sup. Ct. Ch. Div. 1971); see also Leebaert ex rel. Leebaert v. Harrington, 193 F. Supp. 2d 491 (D. Conn. 2002). 61. Brown v. Hot, Sexy & Safer Prod., Inc., 68 F.3d 525 (1st Cir. 1995). 62. Curtis v. Falmouth Sch. Comm., 652 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. 1995); Alfonso v. Fernandez, 606 N.Y.S.2d 259 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993). 63. 319 U.S. 624(1943). 64. Minersville Sch. Dist. v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940). 65. Lipp v. Morris, 579 F.2d 834 (3d Cir. 1978); Goetz v. Ansell, 477 F.2d 636 (2d Cir. 1973); Banks v. Bd. of Pub. Instruction of Dade County, 450 F.2d 1103 (5th Cir. 1971). 66. Sherman v. Cmty. Consol. Sch. Dist. 21,758 F. Supp. 1244 (N.D. III. 1991), modified, 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992); Smith v. Denny, 280 F. Supp. 651 (E.D. Cal. 1968), appeal dismissed, 417 F.2d 614 (9th Cir. 1969). 67. Newdow v. United States Congress, 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. 2002), rev 'don other grounds sub nom, Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 124 S. Ct. 2301 (2004). 68. Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Educ., 431 U.S. 209 (1977); Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705 (1977). 69. Steirer v. Bethlehem Area Sch. Dist., 987 F.2d 989 (3d Cir. 1993). 70. Herndon v. Chapel Hill-Carrboro, 89 F.3d 174 (4th Cir. 1996); Immediato v. Gironda, 73 F.3d 454 (2d Cir. 1996). 71. Uzzell v. Friday, 547F.2d 801 (4th Cir. 1977); Galda v. Rutgers, 772 F2d 1060 (3rd Cir. 1985). 72. Wexner v. Anderson Union High Sch. Dist. Bd. of Trustees, 258 Cal. Rptr. 26 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989). 73. 457 F.2d 289 (2d Cir. 1972). 74. 541 F.2d 577 (6th Cir. 1976). 75. 631 F.2d 1300 (7th Cir. 1980). 76. 457 U.S. 853 (1981). 77. 862 F.2d 1517 (llt h Cir. 1989). 78. Seyfried v. Walton, 668 F.2d 214 (3d Cir. 1981); Bell v. U-32 Bd. of Educ., 630 F. Supp. 939 (D. Vt. 1986); but see Bowman v. Bethel-Tate Bd. of Educ., 610 F. Supp. 577 (S.D. Ohio 1985). 79. Sheck v. Baileyville Sch. Comm., 530 F. Supp. 679 (D. Me. 1982). 80. Salvail v. Nashua Bd. of Educ., 469 F. Supp. 1269 (D.N.H. 1979). 81. Bicknell v. Vergennes Union High Sch. Bd. of Dir., 638 F.2d 438 (2d Cir. 1980). 82. 47 U.S.C. § 247. 83. 123 S.Ct. 2297 (2003). 84. 488 F. Supp. 1138 (N.D. Miss. 1980). 85. Rosenberg v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y., 92 N.Y.S.2d 344 (N.Y. App. Div. 1949). 86. Grimes v. Cavazos, 786 F. Supp. 1184 (S.D.N.Y. 1992). 87. 20 U.S.C. § 6311-6322.

NOTES

47

88. 20 U.S.C. § 7906. 89. 20 U.S.C. § 7904. 90. Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 68 Fed. Reg. 9,648 (Feb. 28, 2003). 91. 17U.S.C. §§ 101-1101. 92. Marcus v. Rowley, 695 F.2d 1171 (9th Cir. 1983). 93. 20 U.S.C. §4071. 94. 496 U.S. 226(1990). 95. 85 F.3d 839 (2d Cir. 1996). 96. Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange Unified Sch. Dist., 83 F. Supp. 2d 1135 (C.D. Cal. 2000). 97. Ceniceros v. Bd. of Trustees of San Diego Unified Sch. Dist., 106 F.3d 878 (9th Cir. 1997). 98. Prince v. Jacoby, 303 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 2002). 99. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h.

CHAPTER

3

STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

Chapters 3 and 4 consider legal issues relating to the school's control of student conduct. A theme that runs through both chapters is the tension between the school's need to maintain an orderly environment and students' rights as citizens and human beings. Spe­ cifically, this chapter examines the extent and limitations of students' constitutional right to freedom of expression in light of the school's need to maintain order and execute its mission. Chapter 4 considers the school's proper response when students misbehave. In the not-too-distant past, the school's authority over its students was subject to few limitations. Courts commonly viewed the school as operating in the place of par­ ents (in loco parentis), a doctrine that justified all manner of regulation, just as true par­ enthood confers broad powers. Until relatively recently, children, much less students, did not enjoy the protections of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment ex­ cept in a few specialized contexts. Accordingly, only statute and common law re­ strained the authority of educators. Law relating to student behavior was scant, dealt primarily with the type and severity of permissible punishment, and allowed educators to decide what acts could be prohibited. Thus, a popular education law textbook published by Madaline Remmlein in 1962 devotes only 10 of its 346 pages to issues relating to the control of student conduct.1 It notes that "[p]upils have the responsibility of obeying the school laws and rules and regulations of the state and local governing officials," and "the duty of submitting to orders of their teachers and other school authorities." Only two limitations on the school's authority are discussed: Statutory and common law are said to limit the sever­ ity of corporal punishment, and expulsions are supposed to be based on rules that are reasonable, although no case law findings against unreasonable school rules are pre­ sented. With the exception of the Supreme Court's ban against a required flag salute in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (see sec. 2.5), Remmlein mentions no constitutional limitations on the school's authority over its pupils. 48

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: AN OVERVIEW

49

Although Remmlein's treatment of this topic was complete for its time, two devel­ opments of the past four decades render it outdated. First, courts have recognized that, although children's legal status is not identical to adults', a child is nevertheless entitled to constitutional protection.2 The state is now expected to provide strong jus­ tification for the differential treatment of children, particularly where fundamental rights are involved. Second, the doctrine of in loco parentis has been largely aban­ doned. Courts have come to realize that for most purposes it is more appropriate to view the school as an arm of the state rather than as a substitute parent. Therefore, courts are willing to extend the protection of the Bill of Rights and Fourteenth Amendment to students. This does not mean that schools no longer have the authority (and duty) to control their pupils. On the contrary, the basic premise of Remmlein's chapter still holds: Stu­ dents have a responsibility to obey the law, school rules, and the commands of their teachers. However, for its part, the school must be governed by the limitations that the law places on state regulation of its citizens. The school is expected to afford its pupils the full protection of their constitutional rights as defined by the courts. 3.1

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: AN OVERVIEW

The clauses of the First Amendment that deal with freedom of expression state: "Con­ gress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of griev­ ances." These limitations apply to the actions of state government by virtue of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of personal freedom and democracy. Four major themes emerge from among the many reasons given by courts and political theo­ rists for its steadfast protection: 1. Freedom of expression is essential to the effective operation of a system of self-government. People are unlikely to reach reasoned decisions unless they are free to debate the issues confronting them. 2. Without freedom of expression, uncovering and challenging false ideas would be impossible, thereby drastically reducing the possibility of learning the truth and impeding personal and political improvement. 3. Freedom of expression fosters self-realization and achievement. 4. Freedom of expression operates as a social and political safety valve permitting people to let off steam without resorting to violence. Courts typically extend broad-based, vigorous protection to freedom of speech. At the same time, they recognize that no right can be absolute. Some forms of speech are so damaging that to protect them would do more harm than good. Probably the best known example is that the state may outlaw crying "fire" in a crowded theater when there is no fire because of the tremendous potential for harm to people and property. Thus, in interpreting the freedom of expression clauses, the courts have developed ex­ tensive doctrine designed to protect both the essential values underlying the First Amendment and those other legitimate interests that speech can damage. Drawing the

50

CHAPTER3: STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

appropriate lines has produced an extensive body of cases involving a complex set of definitions, tests, and rules. Definition of "Speech"

Almost any action can be considered to have some expressive content. But, because the First Amendment specifically prohibits government action that abridges the freedom of "speech," many cases raise the issue of whether a particular expressive act falls into the category of speech. For example, punching someone in the nose can certainly be seen as a form of expression, but is it speech? Under most if not all circumstances, the answer would be no, so government regulation of nose punching—although arguably subject to other constitutional restraints—is not subject to the restraints imposed by the First Amendment. Drawing the line between speech and other forms of expressive conduct is not al­ ways so easy. For example, is sleeping in a park speech? In one case involving people sleeping in a park as part of a demonstration to protest the plight of the homeless, the Supreme Court said that it was.3 Similarly, the Court has declared that flag burning in conjunction with a political demonstration is a speech act, the regulation of which must conform to strictures of the First Amendment.4 The Court wrote: "In deciding whether particular conduct possesses sufficient communicative elements to bring the First Amendment into play, we have asked whether ' [a]n intent to convey a particularized message was present, and [whether] the likelihood was great that the message would be understood by those who viewed it.''' This then is the test for determining if a spe­ cific act is speech for First Amendment purposes. Schools' desire to regulate the appearance of their students often raises the issue of whether hairstyles or clothing constitute speech for First Amendment purposes. Some courts have accepted the contention that a student's hairstyle is speech, but others have disagreed.5 As for clothing, courts sometimes do not consider a general style of dress or the se­ lection of a type of apparel or adornment to be speech. Thus, one court ruled that the wearing of one earring was not speech even though the students wore the earring as a gang symbol, and another court ruled that wearing sagging pants was not speech al­ though it too indicated gang affiliation.6 However, not all courts have reasoned this way. The Fifth Circuit ruled that a school district's requirement that students wear a uniform did raise a free speech question because a student's choice of clothing style had "communicative content" in that it may symbolize ethnic heritage, religious be­ liefs, and political and social views. Despite reaching this conclusion the court upheld the school's uniform policy for reasons discussed in Section 3.2.7 Courts are in agree­ ment that a school's desire to regulate clothing because of the message or logo printed on the clothing raises an issue of freedom of speech and decide these cases based on the constitutional doctrines discussed in Sections 3.2 and 3.3.8 Categories of Speech

Some types of speech do not receive First Amendment protection. Unprotected speech includes obscenity, fighting words, threats, and defamation of private citizens. Legally,

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: AN OVERVIEW

51

obscenity is expression that meets three conditions: (a) the average person applying con­ temporary community standards would find that, taken as a whole, it appeals to prurient interests; (b) the publication depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual con­ duct specifically defined in state law; and (c) taken as a whole, the work lacks serious lit­ erary, artistic, political, or scientific value.9 Fighting words are those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.10 A threat is a statement that a reasonable speaker would expect to be interpreted as a serious expres­ sion of an intent to harm.11 Defamation is a complex concept that for present purposes may be defined as a false statement made to a third party that subjects a person to con­ tempt, ridicule, or similar harm (see sec. 10.2). Because these forms of speech are not protected by the First Amendment, government may, if it wishes, prohibit them and pun­ ish those who engage in them. Thus, the Eighth Circuit permitted a school to expel a stu­ dent for writing a composition that his ex-girlfriend reasonably interpreted as a threat to rape and murder her.12 Some categories of speech including commercial speech, offensive or indecent speech, and defamation of public figures receive only limited First Amendment pro­ tection. To receive any protection, commercial speech—advertisements—must not be about an illegal activity or be misleading. For commercial speech that meets these cri­ teria, government may still impose regulations if: (a) its interest in regulating is sub­ stantial, (b) the regulation directly advances that interest, and (c) the regulation is narrowly tailored to achieve the objective.13 The law regarding offensive speech— speech dealing with excrement or sexual activity in a vulgar or indecent way—is not completely settled, but regulation appears permissible when such speech would be ac­ cessible to children.14 Speech outside the categories listed previously receives the highest level of protec­ tion. Courts are particularly vigilant in protecting political speech, speech that con­ cerns issues of public controversy and concern. But even the most highly protected categories of speech may be regulated and even prohibited when the justification is sufficiently strong. Regulation of Protected Speech Government may wish to regulate speech because of (a) disagreement with its content (e.g., because it advocates legalization of drugs), (b) concern over the potential impact of its content (e.g., fear that the speech will cause the audience to oppose a government policy), or (c) concern over its form (e.g., fear that a broadcast over a loudspeaker out­ side a school, regardless of the content of the message, will disrupt the learning of those inside). It is much more difficult for the government to justify regulation of the content of speech than content-neutral regulations of form. l5 The most difficult regula­ tions to justify are those that seek to suppress disfavored ideas. Generally speaking, in order to justify prohibiting disfavored content, government must prove that the regulation was "necessary to achieve a compelling state purpose or interest... and narrowly drawn to achieve that end." To justify regulation of speech be­ cause of concern over its potential impact, the government may seek to show that a pro­ hibited act of speech was "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and ... likely to incite or produce such action."16 A well-known, older version of this test al­

52

CHAPTER 3: STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

lowed for the prohibition of speech that created a clear and present danger of an evil the government had a right to try to prevent.17 Content-neutral regulations are permissible if the regulation furthers an important or substantial governmental interest and if the inci­ dental restriction of speech is no greater than is essential to further that interest.18 Applying the relevant free speech doctrine to specific situations is not always easy. Consider, for example, the "heckler's veto." What if a speaker's views are so unpopu­ lar that the audience threatens violence toward the speaker? Is the speech then consid­ ered fighting words? Has it inspired imminent lawless action? Can the speaker therefore be punished? If so, then a hostile audience may negate the right to speak freely. These issues are not entirely settled.19 Another free speech issue concerns the individual's right of access to government property in order to speak. The Supreme Court has recognized that there are certain "traditional public forums," such as public parks, historically available for engaging in speech. In these locations, speech is stringently protected. When government volun­ tarily opens or designates a specific location for public speech, the highest level of pro­ tection also applies. On other occasions, government may make its property available for specific and limited free speech purposes. An example would be a school board meeting where members of the public are invited to express their views on a specified topic with a time limit for each speaker. In these circumstances, regulation is permissi­ ble "as long as [it] is reasonable and not an effort to suppress expression merely be­ cause public officials oppose the speaker's view."20 Speech occurring on government property, whether in a traditional public forum or not, may be subjected to reasonable content-neutral regulations of time, place, and manner. These restrictions are typically designed to accommodate competing legiti­ mate uses of a facility or to promote safety. For example, officials may require the dis­ tribution of literature at an airport to take place away from exits to preserve easy egress. To be constitutional, such regulations must meet four criteria: (a) the regula­ tion must be content neutral (i.e., not based on the subject matter or content of the speech), (b) the regulation must serve a significant governmental purpose, (c) the regu­ lation must be narrowly tailored (i.e., not substantially broader than necessary to achieve its purpose), and (d) the regulation must leave ample alternative means to reach the target audience.21 When dealing with issues concerning the free speech rights of students, courts look first to the general free speech principles outlined earlier. However, for reasons dis­ cussed later, courts do not simply take this body of precedent and apply it directly to students. Rather, the law defining student free speech rights is based on general princi­ ples of free speech considered and often modified in light of the special status of stu­ dents and public schools. 3.2

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

Student speech may be divided into three types depending primarily on where and when it occurs and who initiates it. The first type consists of independent student com­ munications that take place at school but not pursuant to the student-speaker's partici­ pation in the curriculum or other school-controlled program. Courts often refer to independent student speech as "private" speech because it emanates entirely from the

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

53

speaker and is not initiated or sponsored by the school. Conversations in the cafeteria or hallways and messages printed on clothing generally fall into this category. The sec­ ond type of student speech occurs as part of the school program, such as classroom dis­ cussions, articles written for the official school newspaper, and speeches given at a school assembly. The third type is speech occurring in a forum that is entirely outside the school's control, usually not on-campus or at a school-sponsored event. This sec­ tion deals with issues concerning student rights to independent in-school speech. Sec­ tions 3.3 and 3.4 consider the second and third types, respectively. Section 3.5 deals with freedom of association and related free speech issues for both student and nonstudent groups. Prior to 1969, the right not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance was the only free speech right ever specifically applied to students by the Supreme Court (see discussion of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette in sec. 2.5). That year, in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District,22 the Court examined for the first time the issue of whether and under what circumstances students have a right to engage in speech of their own choosing while at school. The case is particularly significant be­ cause it marks the Supreme Court's first general consideration of whether the Bill of Rights applies to students in public schools. The Tinker Case

The Tinker case involved a group of students who decided along with their parents to wear black armbands to indicate their objections to the Vietnam War. The administra­ tions of the students' schools became aware in advance of the planned protest and passed a rule forbidding the wearing of armbands at school under penalty of suspen­ sion. The students wore the armbands to school, refused to remove them when asked by their principals, and were suspended until the end of their planned protest period, when they returned without armbands. In order to decide whether the schools had violated the First Amendment rights of the suspended students, the Court had to consider a number of issues. The first issue was whether the constitutional right to freedom of speech applies to students at school. The Court had little trouble deciding this issue in the affirmative because the Constitu­ tion is the fundamental law of the land; it applies in all circumstances although some­ times our understanding of it may be modified by special circumstances. "It can hardly be argued," declared the Court, "that either students or teachers shed their constitu­ tional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate." At the same time, the Court recognized that "the special characteristics of the school environment" may create one of those circumstances that require modification of the way freedom of speech is understood and applied. "Our problem," wrote the Court, "lies in the area where students in the exercise of First Amendment rights collide with the rules of the school authorities." The second issue that the Court had to consider was whether the students had in fact engaged in speech. After all, the students had not been punished for speaking, but rather for wearing black bands on their arms. Here again, the Court had little trouble concluding that this type of behavior was an expressive act, "akin to pure speech," as

54

CHAPTER 3: STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

the Court put it, that did fall under the protection of the First Amendment. Freedom of speech serves to protect not only actual talking, but also a variety of activities whose main purpose and effect is to express an idea. The next and much more difficult issue for the Tinker Court was to determine the ex­ tent to which school officials are justified in curtailing student speech in accordance with the special circumstances of the school. The Court recognized that the public schools are entrusted with the role of educating the vast majority of children, that this role is crucial to the well-being of society, and that unfettered student speech can sometimes interfere with the accomplishment of the school's educational mission. But the Court also recognized that although any expression of an idea that differs from an­ other person's has the potential to lead to a disturbance, freedom of speech is so impor­ tant that even schools must endure some risk of disturbance in order to protect the expression of ideas. Based on these principles, the Court concluded that schools are justified in regulating student speech only if and to the extent that regulation is neces­ sary to prevent "material and substantial" disruption of the educational process or to protect the rights of others within the school community. With these issues decided, the Court's final task was to apply its analysis to the facts at hand. Although the administration claimed that its motivation in banning the arm­ bands had been to prevent disruption of the schools, it was clear to the Court that the real motivation was disagreement with the idea that the students wished to express. After all, the administrations had decided in advance to prohibit the armbands before there was any hint of disruption. There was also evidence that other forms of poten­ tially disruptive symbolic speech, including the wearing of Nazi medallions, had been permitted at the schools and that any disruption actually associated with the wearing of the armbands was extremely minor. Thus, the Court determined that the administra­ tions had overstepped their constitutional bounds and found in favor of the students. By declaring that students do not leave their right to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate,the Tinker Court opened the school to the expression of a wide va­ riety of ideas, even those disfavored by school officials or society in general. Al­ though not prohibiting the school from trying to inculcate students in the political values and beliefs of society (see chap. 2), the Court did find that the Constitution required the school to operate as a marketplace of ideas in which students retain the right to disagree, to formulate their own positions, and, in independent speech, to express their dissent to others. The Tinker Court viewed the school as a microcosm of a democratic society with students enjoying a right to freedom of expression strongly analogous to the right of citizens in society at large. At the same time, the Tinker Court recognized that school officials have a legiti­ mate interest in maintaining an orderly environment so the school can accomplish its educational mission and that they must sometimes regulate speech in order to do so. In striking a balance between student free expression rights and the school's legiti­ mate needs, the Court formulated a rule for determining when school officials law­ fully may regulate student speech. This test is a modified form of the clear and present danger test mentioned previously. The Tinker test says that school officials may only prohibit student speech that causes, or reasonably could be expected to cause, material and substantial disruption of the school's operations or that "in­ vades" the rights of others.

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

55

The most important implication of this test is that school officials may not punish or prohibit speech merely because of a disagreement with the ideas expressed. Nor may they act to suppress or punish speech because of a generalized fear of disruption. They may, however, enforce reasonable regulations limiting the time, place, and manner of student expression as long as the regulations are necessary for the school to perform its educational function. For example, it is perfectly legal, perhaps even desirable, to pro­ hibit students from making political speeches during math class, but, except under very unusual circumstances, it is not permissible to prohibit political speech at times when students are normally free to discuss topics of their own choosing, such as during lunch period. The Tinker test is relevant to the regulation of all manner of private student speech: unofficial (underground) newspapers; buttons bearing political messages; symbols of all sorts, including symbols of gang membership and of religious affiliation or belief, such as rosaries;23 and student demonstrations. One court even ruled that one gay male taking another male to the prom was an expressive activity that could only be regulated according to the Tinker test.24 Applying the Tinker Test Whatever its form, private speech may be regulated only if, in and of itself, it is signifi­ cantly disruptive of the school's educational mission or if it invades the rights of others. The lower courts' use of the Tinker test has produced a set of cases with mixed results. For the most part, freedom of the press regarding independent (nonschool-sponsored) publications has been vigorously protected. Courts have consistently protected stu­ dents from punishment when the distribution of underground newspapers was not ac­ companied by disruption and the content of the papers did not invade the rights of others. Students have been protected when their writings were openly critical of school officials and school policies, encouraged students to object to those policies, or dis­ cussed controversial topics such as contraception.25 The Seventh Circuit relied on Tin­ ker to nullify a school rule that prohibited the distribution of any literature not written by a student, teacher, or school employee, the distribution of anonymous publications, and the sale of literature in school.26 In recent years, the courts in at least some jurisdictions seem to be rethinking the boundaries between independent and school-sponsored speech, thus in some situa­ tions permitting more control of student speech than previously might have been al­ lowed. One court allowed a school to ban the wearing of a "Marilyn Manson" T-shirt even in the absence of any proof of disruption because the shirt embodied an implicit attack on the school's educational mission.27 At the same time, some recent decisions have expanded the category of independent student speech to encompass schoolsponsored situations where students are free to say whatever they wish. The Eleventh Circuit ruled that a student's graduation speech was private speech when the student was elected to deliver the speech by the student body and permitted to decide what to say without supervision from school officials. Since the speech was considered pri­ vate, the fact that it contained religious content did not violate the Establishment Clause.28

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The courts have always been sympathetic toward school regulation of speech in ra­ cially, ethnically, or politically tense situations. In these circumstances, rules banning the wearing of provocative buttons or symbols of gang membership or ethnic pride for­ mulated in advance to prevent violence have been upheld. For example, in Melton v. Young,29 the court permitted a school to ban the wearing of the Confederate flag and re­ lated symbols when such symbols had contributed significantly to racial tensions and disruption at the school. The court was careful to show that its ruling was not inconsis­ tent with Tinker. Unlike the Tinker case, where the Court found no evidence of either actual or potential disruptive conduct, but only an "undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance," the record in the present case reflects quite clearly that there was substantial disorder at Brainerd High School throughout the 1969-70 school year, that this disorder most mate­ rially disrupted the functioning of the school, so much so that the school was in fact closed upon two occasions, that much of the controversy the previous year had centered around the use of the Confederate flag as a school symbol and that the school officials had every right to anticipate that a tense racial situation continued to exist as of the opening of school in September of 1970.

As in Melton, courts are much more likely to approve rules that limit the available modes or manner of expression but not the ideas that can be expressed.30 Accordingly, in Castorina ex rel. Rewt v. Madison County School Board,31 the Sixth Circuit held that a school district could not bar two students from wearing T-shirts with Confederate flags on them in the absence of any proof of disruption when the district at the same time permitted other students to wear clothing venerating Malcolm X. But what if the situation had been different and there was proof of disruption caused by the Confeder­ ate flag T-shirts? Could the district in that circumstance act to bar the T-shirts while permitting other students to continue wearing the Malcolm X clothing? In other words, can a school engage in viewpoint discrimination if the statement of one view creates material and substantial disruption but a statement of the opposing view does not? There is a strong indication in the Tinker opinion that viewpoint discrimination is not permissible. Yet the Court's statement on this point is ambiguous: "Clearly, the prohi­ bition of expression of one particular opinion, at least without evidence that it is neces­ sary to avoid material and substantial interference with schoolwork or discipline, is not constitutionally permissible." Whether by word or symbol, the expression of any unpopular idea amidst a hostile audience may produce disruption. Thus, the issue arises whether school officials must protect the maker of a controversial speech or the wearer of a provocative symbol and control the audience or whether they may seek to limit disruption by censoring the ex­ pression. More generally, can a hostile audience nullify the free speech rights of the speaker by threatening to be disruptive? Neither Tinker nor any other school case ad­ dresses the question of the "heckler's veto." Presumably, the initial response of school officials must be to protect the speaker, but a determination of when this may be deemed impractical and steps taken to silence the speaker must await further litigation. When school officials can reasonably forecast that a student's speech indicates a likelihood of violent disruption, they may punish the speaker to the extent necessary to prevent the violence. In LaVine v. Blaine School District,32 the Ninth Circuit ruled that

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

57

a principal did not violate a student's free speech rights when the principal expelled the student on an emergency basis after he showed his teacher a poem he had written that was filled with imagery of violent death and suicide and the shooting of fellow students at school. The court noted that in addition to the poem, the principal had considered the student's previous suicidal ideation, disciplinary history, family situation, recent break-up and subsequent stalking of his former girlfriend, and a recent school shooting in a nearby city. The court further noted that the school allowed the student to return as soon as he was evaluated by a psychiatrist in whose opinion the student was not a threat to himself or others. Sometimes, however, courts will not permit regulation of speech just because school officials fear that disruption might occur. In Chalifoux v. New Caney Independ­ ent School District,33 a federal district court in Texas concluded that school officials had failed to present sufficient evidence of disruption to justify their refusal to let stu­ dents wear rosaries for purely religious reasons. The district claimed that because rosa­ ries were gang symbols for some students, a rule banning the wearing of rosaries for any reason was justified. In rejecting the district's argument, the court found that there had been only one instance on school grounds of students who claimed to be gang members wearing rosaries and that when the plaintiffs in the case wore their rosaries, there was no evidence that they attracted the attention of other students. The court also found that the school's rule against "gang-related apparel" was unconstitutionally vague (see sec. 4.1). In formulating the "material and substantial disruption" standard, the Tinker Court was primarily concerned with physical disturbance. Some courts have broadened the notion to include other possible undesirable consequences of speech, such as the po­ tential to produce psychological stress in other students. For example, in Trachtman v. Anker, 34 the court permitted a school to ban the distribution by high school journalists of a questionnaire eliciting "rather personal and frank information about [other] stu­ dents' sexual attitudes, preferences, knowledge and experience." School officials had instituted the rule because they feared that students asked to complete the question­ naire might be harmed psychologically. At the trial, some psychologists supported the administration's position and others contradicted it. Trachtman illustrates the great reluctance of many courts to overrule the adminis­ trative decisions of school officials. Even if Tinker is interpreted to permit schools to suppress expression in order to protect students from psychological harm, Trachtman provided little reason to believe that students would be harmed. No one was forced to fill out the questionnaire and students were alerted to the subject matter of the ques­ tionnaire before reading it. Like La Vine, Trachtman, and Chalifoux, much post-Tinker litigation deals with ap­ plications of the material-and-substantial-disruption standard. But Tinker also autho­ rizes the prohibition of speech that invades the rights of others. The scope of this standard is not well defined, but presumably, it permits suppressing speech that invades the privacy (see sec. 10.3) of another member of the school community.35 Defamatory material directed at a student or other private citizen may also be prohibited both on the basis of Tinker and because defamation is not protected by the First Amendment. How­ ever, material can only be defamatory if it makes or implies a false statement of fact, not because it expresses a negative opinion of another person (see sec. 10.2).

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Other Grounds for Regulating Independent Student Speech The Tinker test is not the only grounds for regulating independent student speech. School officials may prohibit the distribution of obscene material within the school be­ cause obscenity is not protected speech. Although courts permit a more inclusive defi­ nition of obscenity with regard to materials distributed to minors,36 the line between obscenity and the merely sexually suggestive or offensive is not easily drawn. Even so, the Supreme Court has indicated a willingness to support efforts to exclude nonobscene, sexually suggestive communications at least in the context of a school-sponsored assembly.37 However, a majority of lower courts have protected underground newspapers from suppression because they contain vulgar words.38 In a higher educa­ tion case, the Supreme Court prohibited a university from expelling a student for dis­ tributing an independent newspaper with an offensive, but not obscene, political cartoon and the headline "M f Acquitted" on the front page. The cartoon depicted a policeman raping the Statue of Liberty.39 It is doubtful that the Court would reach the same conclusion in the context of a high school. Based on the general principle that fighting words are not protected speech, it is rea­ sonably clear that schools may prohibit racist and sexist insults directed at a particular individual if the insults are likely to inflict injury or cause the average person to fight.40 This principle is consistent with the Tinker decision. Students also may be prohibited from threatening another student or teacher or threatening violence or lawlessness within the school.41 It is not clear whether insults that do not fit the legal definition of fighting words or threats may be prohibited. It is also unclear to what extent schools may prohibit "hate speech," speech that gives offense to a racial, ethnic, religious, or gender group. In a noneducation case, R.A. V. v. City of St. Paul,42 the Supreme Court ruled that government may not suppress this kind of speech merely because of a disagreement with the hateful viewpoint being expressed. Similarly, Tinker permits regulations designed to prevent material and sub­ stantial disruption, but not regulations designed to prevent the expression of disfavored or even offensive opinions. As a practical matter, especially within the con­ text of a racially diverse school, this distinction may sometimes be very difficult to draw. This fact coupled with an appreciation of the school's legitimate goal of oppos­ ing racial discrimination led one federal district court to conclude that the principles of the R.A. V. decision do not apply to the regulation of independent student speech.43 Further complicating matters is the fact that federal civil rights statutes—for exam­ ple, Title VI and Title IX—impose a duty on school officials to prevent racial and sex­ ual harassment in schools (see sec. 5.8 and 5.9), and the R.A. V. Court suggested in dicta that laws preventing harassment are constitutional. At the very least, rules regulating hate speech must be as precise and narrow as possible. No matter how well intentioned, vaguely worded rules limiting the content of speech or rules that could be used to sup­ press legitimate dissent will not pass constitutional muster (see sec. 4.1 regarding vague and overbroad rules). In keeping with the law governing the regulation of commercial speech, schools may prohibit the on-campus distribution of advertisements for cigarettes, liquor, and other substances that may not be sold to minors. However, the extent of the school's authority to regulate nondisruptive, student-initiated on-campus advertising is un­

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

59

clear. In one case, the Fourth Circuit, although not relying on commercial speech doc­ trine, allowed school officials to prohibit the distribution of a newspaper that carried an advertisement for a "head shop," a store specializing in the legal sale of parapherna­ lia used for illegal drug consumption.44 Religious speech by students can pose a tricky problem for school officials. Cer­ tainly, students who wish to discuss their religious views among themselves during their free time have a right to do so. But what of students who wish to publicize and pro­ mote their religious views among their schoolmates? Does freedom of speech protect the right to proselytize at school? Does the Establishment Clause require the school to prohibit this form of speech? Do other students have a right to be protected from being proselytized at school? Is there a conflict between freedom of speech and freedom of religion? In Thompson v. Waynesboro Area School District,45 the court found in favor of stu­ dents who had been prohibited from distributing in their school's hallways religious literature written by an outside group. The school had argued that it had a duty to pro­ tect other students from receiving religious literature possibly in opposition to their own beliefs and to avoid the appearance that the school endorsed the religious view­ point of the literature. However, the court concluded on the basis of testimony by the school's principal that "the restrictions ... were at least to some extent content based" in violation of the students' freedom of speech. The school had permitted the distribu­ tion of other types of literature even if written by outside groups and the students' time, place, and manner of distribution had been nondisruptive. After employing the Lemon test (see sec. 2.3), the court further declared that allowing distribution of the religious literature would not violate the Establishment Clause. Other courts have made rulings similar to Thompson.46 In Adler v. Duval County School Board,47 the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the delivery of a religious graduation speech by a student selected by vote of the student body and permitted to decide what to say without supervision from school officials did not violate the Establishment Clause since this was private student speech and not official school sponsorship of reli­ gion. This ruling implies that private religious speech by students can only be regu­ lated in accordance with the Tinker test. Note, however, that if the school had a major role in selecting the graduation speaker or deciding what was said, a religious gradua­ tion speech would violate the Establishment Clause.48 Also note that the "Guidance" issued by the Department of Education pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act (see sec. 2.7) states that schools should not prohibit private student religious speech based on its content. However, not all courts have been protective of student religious speech activities. One court ruled that it was permissible to prohibit students from distributing religious literature and otherwise proselytizing in the hallways. The court found that the goal of avoiding any endorsement of religion was important and that the restriction was not a serious infringement on the rights of students because they could distribute their litera­ ture off school grounds.49 The danger of this position is that all student free speech rights could be eliminated on the basis that students could always conduct their speech activities off-campus. Thompson follows Tinker in authorizing reasonable time, place, and manner reg­ ulations of speech. Time, place, and manner regulations are like traffic rules: not

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designed to impede the activity they regulate but only to ensure an orderly use of crowded spaces. Regulations are legitimate for allocating a given space to compet­ ing uses but should not be used as a subterfuge to censor speech activities because of their content. For example, school officials may limit student rallies and demon­ strations to specific locations and times to ensure the orderly use of school facilities 50 but not to prevent expressions of disagreement with school district or government policy. The Thompson case depended in part on the court's analysis of the status of the school and, specifically, of the school's hallways as a forum of communication. Gov­ ernment property is divided into three different categories for purposes of determin­ ing the constitutionality of restrictions on speech making, literature distribution, and other communicative activities: the traditional public, or open forum; the public forum by designation or limited public forum; and the nonpublic forum. Government-enforced time, place, and manner restrictions are permissible in all three fo­ rums; however, in a traditional public forum, such as a public park or sidewalk, content restrictions are only permissible if they serve a compelling state interest and are narrowly tailored to serve that interest. A public forum by designation is an area of government property that the government voluntarily opens to communicative ac­ tivity, such as a municipal auditorium that traditionally has been available to any group requesting it. In a public forum by designation, whether so-designated by offi­ cial policy or custom and practice, the government must observe the rules pertaining to an open forum unless it specifically decides to convert the area to a nonpublic forum. A nonpublic forum is an area designated only for specific purposes, such as an auditorium used only for Shakespearean plays. Here the government may impose re­ strictions on communication that are reasonable and not intended to suppress the ex­ pression of disfavored ideas. It should be noted that viewpoint suppression is not permissible in any government-controlled forum. A number of cases including Thompson have judged areas such as school hallways and cafeterias to be public forums by designation, thereby imposing a heavy burden on school officials wishing to limit communications in these areas.51 This judgment seems consistent with the reality of most schools where students traditionally have been free to communicate on topics of their own choosing while eating lunch or pass­ ing to class, and also with the spirit of Tinker. On the other hand, classrooms during class, school auditoriums during assemblies, and other areas being used for a specific curricular purpose may more properly be viewed as nonpublic forums and permit reasonable regulations not necessitated by compelling need. Furthermore, at some schools, the grounds around the school may have the status of a public forum at least during nonschool hours. However, one court has ruled that a school's entire campus was a nonpublic forum and thus applied the standard of reasonableness to a school rule restricting the distribution of materials on school grounds.52 Thompson also discusses an especially sensitive First Amendment issue—prior review and suppression of publications. May school officials insist on reviewing student-initiated written materials prior to their distribution on school grounds? May officials prohibit the distribution of material that fails to meet specified criteria and, if so, under what circumstances? One case, Eisner v. Stamford Board of Education,53 did affirm the constitutionality of a system of prior review that meets the following

INDEPENDENT STUDENT SPEECH

61

criteria: standards for determining whether a publication may or may not be distrib­ uted cannot be vague or overbroad (see sec. 4.1); there must be clear specification of when prior approval is required and to whom publications are to be submitted; a defi­ nite, brief period (say two to three days) must be established for conducting the re­ view and it must be clearly stated that distribution may proceed if the school fails to respond within the stated time period; and students must be made aware of an appeals process in cases of adverse decisions. In another case, Burch v. Barker,54 the court specifically rejected the Eisner court's conclusion and prohibited the school from enforcing any system of prior re­ view. The case concerned the punishment of students who distributed a nonschool-sponsored newspaper in violation of a requirement of prior review. School officials "testified that in their view a predistribution censorship policy was neces­ sary for the safe operation of the school, to avoid distractions, hurt feelings and ca­ reer damage to the faculty, to further parental and community expectations and to avoid potential school liability." However, the court pointed out that there had been no incidents of disruption relating to the distribution of this or any other publica­ tion at the school, that even "[t]he defendants' expert admitted that he knew of no studies nor any statistics showing that school districts without a system of predistribution review and censorship of student-written communication experi­ ence educational disruption as a result of underground newspapers," and that "[t]here was no evidence that anyone familiar with [the independent newspaper] confused it with any school-sponsored publication or believed its contents re­ flected the view of the school administration." Thus, concluded the court, the prior restraint rule was based on exactly the sort of "undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance" that the Tinker court rejected as a justification for limitations on speech. The court reasoned that the school had no more need to know in advance the content of independent student writing than it had to know in advance the content of independent student talking. "Interstudent communi­ cation does not interfere with what the school teaches," wrote the court; "it enriches the school environment...." The court was careful to point out that the school did retain the right to stop further distribution of libelous, obscene, and materially and substan­ tially disruptive publications after it had begun and to punish those who distribute such material. But, explained the court, a system of subsequent punishment is far less dan­ gerous than a system of prior restraint: A system of prior restraint is in many ways more inhibiting than a system of subsequent punishment: it is likely to bring under government scrutiny a far wider range of expres­ sion; it shuts off communication before it takes place; suppression by a stroke of the pen is more likely to be applied ... ; the system allows less opportunity for public appraisal and criticism; the dynamics of the system drive toward excesses, as the history of all cen­ sorship shows.

It is likely that some courts would follow the Burch decision and others might fol­ low Eisner or formulate their own restrictions on prior review. At a minimum, it can be said that because prior review has the potential to discourage expression, the school bears the burden of showing that any system it employs meets First Amendment re­ quirements.

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School Uniforms

As noted in Section 3.1, some courts view choice of clothing as potentially a form of speech. A logical consequence of this view is that a policy requiring students to wear a uniform (or any restrictive dress code) is another form of prior restraint in that it pre­ vents students from expressing themselves through their clothes. The Fifth Circuit took this position in dealing with two separate cases challenging school uniform poli­ cies on free speech grounds. However, the court rejected the use of the Tinker test be­ cause the uniform requirement was content neutral in that it did not prohibit the expression of any particular idea; rather it was a regulation of time, place, and manner of expression. Instead, the court employed the tests used to decide the constitutionality of content-neutral regulations of speech: whether the regulations served an important gov­ ernment purpose and whether they were narrowly tailored to serve that purpose. In ruling in favor of the school districts, the court found that the uniform policies served the important purposes of promoting decorum, decreasing tensions, reducing gang-related activity, reducing discipline problems, and reducing the likelihood that students would be able to bring weapons to school concealed in their clothing. The regulations were narrowly tailored in that any First Amendment infringement was temporary be­ cause students could choose what to wear after school. One district's policy also in­ cluded an opt-out provision for students and parents with bona fide religious or philosophical objections.55 3.3

SCHOOL-SPONSORED SPEECH

Tinker and the other cases and principles discussed in Section 3.2 deal with school reg­ ulation of independent or private student speech, what the Tinker Court referred to as "personal intercommunication among the students." This Section considers student speech that takes place as part of the student's participation in the school's curriculum or other activity under the school's sponsorship and control. Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser 56 considered the case of a student punished for using "sexual innuendo" in a nominating speech for a fellow student at a school as­ sembly. The student had been warned in advance by teachers not to make the speech, and some of the audience had responded to the speech by yelling, "graphically simulat­ ing the sexual activities pointedly alluded to in [Fraser's] speech," or appearing "be­ wildered and embarrassed." The lower courts cited Tinker in finding the school's actions in violation of the student's free speech rights, but the Supreme Court found important distinctions between the cases. Whereas the school officials in Tinker had acted to suppress a disfavored idea, the Bethel school administrators objected only to the manner of Fraser's speech. The Court felt that it was perfectly appropriate for the school to enforce rules prohibiting "the use of vulgar and offensive terms in public discourse." In fact, the Court believed that such rules would serve the educational purpose of teaching students that "even the most heated political discourse in a democratic society requires consideration for the personal sensibilities of the other participants and audiences." Also mentioned was that, unlike Tinker, Fraser's speech occurred as part of a "school-sponsored activity."

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The Court summarized its findings as follows: We hold that petitioner School District acted entirely within its permissible authority in imposing sanctions upon Fraser in response to his offensively lewd and indecent speech. Unlike the sanctions imposed on the students wearing armbands in Tinker, the penalties imposed in this case were unrelated to any political viewpoint. The First Amendment does not prevent the school officials from determining that to permit a vulgar and lewd speech such as respondent's would undermine the school's basic educational mission. A high school assembly or classroom is no place for a sexually explicit monologue directed towards an unsuspecting audience of teenage students. Accordingly, it was perfectly ap­ propriate for the school to disassociate itself to make the point to the pupils that vulgar speech and lewd conduct is wholly inconsistent with the "fundamental values" of public school education.... School Newspapers

In 1988, in Hazel-wood School District v. Kuhlmeier,57 the Supreme Court confirmed the distinction hinted at two years earlier in Fraser between school-sponsored and nonschool-sponsored speech. The case involved a high school principal's deletion, prior to publication, from the school newspaper of articles concerning "students' ex­ periences with pregnancy," and "the impact of divorce on students at the school." The newspaper was produced by the students as part of a regularly scheduled course and was funded primarily by the district. The regular practice at the school was for the journalism teacher to submit the page proofs of each issue to the principal for his re­ view prior to publication. The principal's reasons for deleting the articles included a concern over possible embarrassment to students and parents identified or identifi­ able in the stories, a belief that "references to sexual activity and birth control were inappropriate for some of the younger students at the school," and a concern that the student journalists had not followed proper journalistic procedures because parents mentioned in the divorce article had not been given an opportunity to respond. The student editors and writers claimed that the principal's actions violated their right to freedom of the press. As in Fraser, the court of appeals cited Tinker in finding in favor of the students, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision. The lower court felt that the student newspaper was a public forum, "intended to be and operated as a conduit for student viewpoint." As such, it believed that the school could only censor the paper to avoid material and substantial disruption of education or to prevent an invasion of the rights of others. But, according to the lower court, neither of these conditions ob­ tained: It was unlikely that the articles would cause educational disruption, and, in a legal sense, the articles did not constitute libel or invasion of privacy or breach of any other right. The Supreme Court's basic disagreement with the court of appeals was that the Su­ preme Court did not view the newspaper as a public forum. Although the school had usually permitted the students to control the content of the paper, the Court neverthe­ less found that the primary purpose of the newspaper was as a laboratory to teach the principles of proper journalism. Thus, reasoned the Court, Kuhlmeier presented a far different question from Tinker. The Court explained the difference as follows:

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The question whether the First Amendment requires a school to tolerate particular stu­ dent speech—the question that we addressed in Tinker—is different from the question whether the First Amendment requires a school affirmatively to promote particular stu­ dent speech. The former question addresses educators' ability to silence a student's per­ sonal expression that happens to occur on the school premises. The latter question concerns educators' authority over school-sponsored publications, theatrical produc­ tions, and other expressive activities that students, parents, and members of the public might reasonably perceive to bear the imprimatur of the school. These activities may fairly be characterized as part of the school curriculum, whether or not they occur in a tra­ ditional classroom setting, so long as they are supervised by faculty members and de­ signed to impart particular knowledge or skills to student participants and audiences.

Having established this distinction, the Court went on to explain that the school's function relative to a school newspaper or school play is not just as the place where these activities happen to take place, but rather is a role analogous to the publisher of a newspaper or the producer of a play. As such, the school can legitimately regulate student speech appearing to "bear the imprimatur of the school" for a variety of rea­ sons. These might include a desire to impart an educational message; for example, by excluding poorly written or researched or biased material, to disassociate the school from values it does not share, or to shield other students from age-inappropriate in­ formation, "which might range from the existence of Santa Claus in an elementary school setting to the particulars of teenage sexual activity in a high school." In fact, concluded the Court, any reason that is designed to advance the school's legitimate educational goals will suffice: "[E]ducators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." Applying Hazelwood and Fraser

Following Hazelwood, student free speech cases turn on the following issues: Did the speech occur as part of the curriculum or in a situation where it might be perceived as having the endorsement of the school? If not, the case will be resolved based on the Tinker test and other principles explained in Section 3.2. If so, did school policy, ei­ ther explicitly or implicitly by longstanding practice, designate the school-sponsored publication or event as a public forum? If so (e.g., a school-sponsored newspaper traditionally operated as a forum for students to express their own ideas on topics of their own choosing), the Tinker doctrine again applies. For example, in Zucker v. Panitz,58 a pre-Hazelwood case that nonetheless was decided consistently with its doctrine, the court enjoined the principal from barring publication of an ad­ vertisement expressing opposition to the Vietnam War. Because the paper was a pub­ lic forum, the discriminatory exclusion of disfavored points of view was not permissible. The same result was reached in another case when a school newspaper that had run advertisements for the military refused advertisements for an organiza­ tion advocating alternatives to military service.59 If the answer to the second question is no, if the school publication has not been maintained as a public forum, then the doctrine announced in Hazelwood applies.

SCHOOL-SPONSORED SPEECH

65

Then the relevant question is whether the actions of school officials in restricting stu­ dent speech were "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." If the censorship had "no valid educational purpose," then the First Amendment rights of students have been violated. Additionally, some courts insist that censorship of stu­ dent work even in school-sponsored, nonpublic forums must be based on preexisting rules. In one case, the court said that school officials could not block the publication of a student's movie reviews of R-rated films because the school had not previously established a clearly defined policy regarding movie reviews of R-rated films. 60 Hazelwood ensures that schools have ample authority to pursue their legitimate educational goals by regulating student speech in curricular contexts. Several courts have cited Hazelwood when affirming the right of teachers to prevent students from selecting a religious topic as the subject of a term paper.61 However, the Hazelwood Court's emphasis on "valid educational" purposes does not authorize school offi­ cials to act on personal whim or subjective preferences. The U.S. Department of Edu­ cation position on religious content in schoolwork is consistent with this principle (see sec. 2.7): Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other writ­ ten and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.

A school may not prevent a student from selecting a religious (or nonreligious) topic when the topic is relevant to the course and work assigned (e.g., write a paper describ­ ing the most meaningful event in your life), but it may penalize students who select topics, religious or not, that are not relevant to the work assigned (e.g., a student as­ signed to write a paper on the "Darwinian theory of evolution" who insists on writing about the Biblical theory of creation or the Lamarckian theory of inheritance instead.) In response to Hazelwood, several state legislatures have passed Student Freedom of the Press laws that require that students be given editorial control of their own school newspapers and relieve schools, administrators, and teacher-advisors from any liability for what students write. Where these laws exist, educators may not censor the content of school newspapers, but may only advise students of possible legal, moral, or journalistic problems with their work. Based onFraser and Hazelwood, the school's authority to prohibit "lewd" speech in the context of school-sponsored events is well-established. More than one court has re­ lied on Fraser to permit a school to ban the wearing of T-shirts or other apparel dis­ playing sexually suggestive messages.62 Despite these cases, it is not clear whether Fraser authorizes the banning of all lewd speech, even if nondisruptive (e.g., in private conversations between willing students). Courts have also relied on Fraser and Hazelwood to permit censorship of student speeches at assemblies, provided the action was based on "legitimate pedagogical con­ cerns." Thus, in Poling v. Murphy, 63 the court upheld the punishment of a student whose campaign speech included "rude" and "discourteous" remarks about an assis­ tant principal. The court noted that local officials should be given wide latitude to de­ termine legitimate pedagogical concerns for their schools. In this case, the action was

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justified by the desire to teach "the art of stating one's views without indulging in per­ sonalities and without unnecessarily hurting the feelings of others." In another case, the Eighth Circuit relied upon Hazel-wood in concluding that a school could deny a student the right to hold student office because he distributed con­ doms to underscore his campaign slogan that he was the "safe choice." The school could legitimately block condom distribution in order to avoid the impression that it had given its imprimatur to teenage sexual activity. The court rejected the argument that punishment of the student amounted to improper viewpoint suppression when other candidates were permitted to distribute candy: The distribution of condoms is qualitatively different from the handing out of candy or gum. The one can be read to signify approval or encouragement of teenage sexual activ­ ity. The other constitutes the traditional bestowing of a de minimis gratuity not associ­ ated with any social or political message.64

The court in the condom case avoided the issue of whether Hazelwood allows edu­ cators to make viewpoint-based decisions regarding school-sponsored speech. On this crucial question the circuit courts are split. The First, Third, and Tenth Circuits have concluded that Hazelwood permits viewpoint discrimination as long as the restriction is reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.65 However the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have said that Hazelwood requires viewpoint neutrality.66 Several courts have been willing to expand the implications of Fraser and Hazelwood beyond the contexts in which they were decided. One court relied on Fra­ ser to permit a principal to suppress displays of a school symbol that Black students and parents found offensive. The court noted that, by its very nature, a "school mascot or symbol bears the stamp of approval of the school itself," and that the desire to avoid insulting a segment of the student body is a legitimate concern.67 An Arizona court cited Hazelwood when approving a school's mandatory dress code on the somewhat novel theory that the students' dress might be perceived by outsiders as having the ap­ proval of the school.68 Basing its reasoning on Bethel, a federal district court in Geor­ gia concluded that school officials could, without violating a student's right not to speak, force the student to issue a public apology for her behavior. "If the 'school board' can determine 'what manner of speech' is inappropriate in the classroom ... it can also dictate what speech is proper when fulfilling its 'charge to inculcate the habits and manners of civility' ... especially where the prescribed utterance does not touch upon the student's other protected freedoms."69 A Sixth Circuit decision underscores the potential that Hazelwood holds for, in ef­ fect, overruling Tinker with regard to private student speech. In Borkoff v. Van Wert City Board of Education,70 the court upheld the authority of school officials to ban "Marilyn Manson" T-shirts because the "message" of the shirts was inconsistent with the basic educational mission of the school. The court wrote that the T-shirts sported symbols and words that promoted values (e.g., drug use) that were so patently contrary to the school's educational mission that the school had the authority to prohibit them even though there was no proof of disruption. Not all courts have been willing to expand the implications of Hazelwood and Fra­ ser, however. In 1992, the Ninth Circuit considered a case in which students claimed a

OFF-CAMPUS SPEECH

67

violation of their free speech rights when school officials required them to remove but­ tons critical of replacement teachers hired during a strike of regular teachers. School officials claimed the buttons were disruptive, but a replacement teacher confirmed that there had been no disruption in her class. In deciding the case, the court declined to rely on Fraser because the buttons, which bore such slogans as "I'm not listening to scabs" and "Do scabs bleed?" were not lewd, vulgar, or plainly offensive. Hazelwooddid not apply either, said the court, because this was not the kind of speech that the public was likely to believe carried the imprimatur of the school. Thus, basing its ruling solely on Tinker, the court ruled in favor of the students because school officials had been unable to prove that the buttons were disruptive: "The passive expression of a viewpoint in the form of a button worn on one's clothing is certainly not in the class of those activities which inherently distract students and break down the regimentation of the classroom."71 It is perfectly possible to honor the letter and spirit of Tinker, Hazelwood, and Fra­ ser simultaneously, and, in fact, that is what the law requires. Nevertheless, there seems to be a tension between courts that continue to view Tinker as providing strong protection for student freedom of speech and those that view Hazelwood and Fraser as justifying broad limitations on student free speech. In recent years, many courts have become more supportive of efforts of school officials to control student speech. Whether courts in the future will be more sympathetic to students who wish to ex­ press their ideas at school or to schools that wish to regulate student speech remains to be seen. 3.4

OFF-CAMPUS SPEECH

Thomas v.Board of Education72 concerned a group of students punished by their school for producing and distributing a satirical magazine entitled Hard Times, characterized by school officials as "morally offensive, indecent, and obscene." The magazine was written, produced, and sold off-campus and contained a request that the magazine not be brought to school. However, some copies did find their way into the school. In find­ ing that the school had overstepped its constitutional bounds by punishing the magazine's writers, the court reasoned that the school had no legitimate educational purpose that would justify this kind of intrusion into students' off-campus expression. The court's position was that once students leave the school, what they say or write is no business of the school. Otherwise, students' free speech rights could be significantly and impermissibly curtailed by the taste and views of school officials and the patrons of the school district. The only exception to this rule would be a situation where a student's expression is directly detrimental to a school's ability to perform its educational function. Thus, in Fenton v. Stear,13 a federal court upheld the suspension of a student who made loud, in­ sulting remarks about a teacher at a local restaurant. More recently, in J.S. ex rel. H.S. v. Bethlehem Area School District74 the highest state court in Pennsylvania upheld the expulsion of a student who, in a Web site produced off campus, wrote insulting and probably defamatory statements about teachers and the principal, depicted one teacher with her head cut off, and offered to pay a hit man $20 to kill her. Although the court

68

CHAPTER 3: STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

concluded that the statements did not constitute true threats and therefore qualified as protected speech, it found that the Web site caused psychological stress on staff that was sufficiently disruptive to justify the expulsion. Although Thomas was decided before Hazelwood, the outcomes are consistent. Ar­ guably, Hazelwood might permit school officials to control the contents of an inde­ pendent newspaper or Web site produced in such a manner that it would appear to the community to have the imprimatur of the school. However, in Thomas, the student edi­ tors of Hard Times had taken steps to separate their work from the school and followed the suggestions of school officials regarding this issue. Students have the right to publish—either by traditional or electronic means—the information that they attend a par­ ticular school and to disseminate facts and information about their school unless they do so in a manner that appears to be school-sponsored or that materially and substan­ tially disrupts the school. In general, school officials are prohibited from trying to reg­ ulate the off-campus behavior of their students except behavior that has direct effect on the operation of the school, but the prohibition is especially strong when constitutional rights such as free speech are implicated (see sec. 4.1).

3.5

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

By organizing associations and speaking as a group, individuals can amplify their voices. Although freedom of association is not explicitly guaranteed by the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has recognized it as a corollary of free speech. As such, the Court has said that public colleges may not deny official recognition to stu­ dent political organizations or bar them from campus except by application of the Tin­ ker test.75 Several other cases have forced public universities to recognize gay student organizations.76 What these cases tell us about the right of association in elementary and secondary schools is not entirely clear. Courts commonly view lower schools as having both more authority over their students than colleges and a greater duty to protect their students. These principles might justify excluding student organizations in some situations when colleges would have to allow them. Except with regard to religious organizations seeking access to school facilities, there has been little litigation exploring the constitutional right of association of high school students. The cases that have been brought generally follow Tinker in prohibit­ ing schools from banning student groups because they embrace disfavored ideas. For example, in Dixon v. Beresh,71 the court found unconstitutional a principal's refusal to grant recognition as a school organization to a student-organized "Young Socialist Al­ liance." The principal was acting under a board of education policy forbidding recog­ nition of any group "advocating controversial ideas" or "stressing one side of issues." The court reasoned that the effect of the policy was to suppress the expression of ideas and that there was no legitimate forecast of "material and substantial disruption as re­ quired by Tinker." As discussed in Section 2.7, in secondary schools that have created a limited open forum, the Equal Access Act (EAA)78 prohibits denying the use of school facilities to student-initiated groups because of the subject matter or content of the group's speech.

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

69

Whether the EAA applies or not, the Constitution prohibits withholding recognition from any group because of a disagreement with the group's beliefs or ideas. There may be other legitimate reasons for denying recognition or access to school facilities to stu­ dent groups. A school might legitimately decide not to recognize any student group for administrative ease or to reserve its resources for official educational purposes.79 Stu­ dent groups may be excluded if they materially and substantially disrupt the school's educational mission or invade the rights of others. Student groups may also be ex­ cluded on the basis of what they do as opposed to what they say or think. Thus, schools may bar student organizations that discriminate on the basis of race or gender.80 Use of School Facilities by Outside Groups These same principles apply to nonstudent groups and speakers under conditions when other external groups have been granted access to the school. Exclusion to prevent vio­ lence or disruption or of organizations that discriminate is permissible81 but not to sup­ press the expression of ideas.82 Some of the most difficult issues arise with regard to outside groups that wish to use school facilities for religious purposes. Does a school district's permitting a church or religious study group to use its facilities constitute support or promotion of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause? Does the denial of permission constitute a vio­ lation of the religious group's free speech or free exercise rights? In 1993, the Supreme Court considered these issues in Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District.,83 The case involved a New York state law autho­ rizing local school boards to adopt reasonable regulations for the use of school property for ten specific purposes. The list included social, civic, recreational, and entertainment but not religious purposes. Pursuant to the law, a local school district adopted a policy permitting the use of its facilities after school hours for a variety of civic and political purposes provided that "the school premises shall not be used by any group for religious purposes." Based on this policy, the district denied permission to Lamb's Chapel, a local evangelical organization, to show a six-part film series that featured lectures by psychol­ ogists who advocated that "Christian family values [be] instilled at an early stage." The district explained that the series appeared "church related." The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the district's rule was unconstitutional as applied to the film series. The Court acknowledged that the district, like a private owner of property, could have preserved its property for the use to which it was dedi­ cated and need not have permitted any after-hours use of its property. However, once the district voluntarily made its facilities available for use by after-hours groups, it could not enforce rules designed to exclude expression of specific points of view. The Court further concluded that to permit Lamb's Chapel to use the facilities would not vi­ olate the Establishment Clause because it would have neither the purpose nor primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion and would not foster excessive entanglement with religion. In 2001, in Good News Club v. Milford Central School,84 the Supreme Court once again ordered a school district to make its facilities available to an outside group. In this case, the school district had refused to permit a private Christian organization to

70

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hold weekly after-school meetings for elementary school students at which the stu­ dents sang religious songs, received Bible lessons, memorized scripture, and were in­ structed in Christian religious doctrine. Although the dissenting opinion characterized the meetings as "evangelical service(s) of worship," the majority found that the only difference between the activities in Lamb's Chapel and in this case was that the Good News Club chose to teach Christian moral lessons through live story telling and prayer, whereas in Lamb's Chapel, lessons were taught through films. The Court assumed that the school had created only a nonpublic or limited forum, yet the exclusion was still un­ constitutional viewpoint discrimination. The Court also rejected the claim that the Es­ tablishment Clause was violated as students could attend only with parental permission so there could be no coercion to participate. Lamb's Chapel and Good News Club leave uncertain the question whether a school that is generally available for use by outside groups must be made available for avow­ edly religious services. The Second Circuit, in a decision pre-dating Good News Club, upheld a policy that permitted general use, but excluded use of the school for religious services and religious instruction.85 The decision in Good News Club calls into ques­ tion that part of the Second Circuit decision that upheld the exclusion of religious in­ struction, but the portion of the opinion upholding exclusion of religious services may still be sound. The issue depends on whether the exclusion of religious services is viewed as based on subject matter in which case it is probably permissible or on view­ point in which case it is not. In any case, schools are free, if they wish, to give churches access to school facilities on the same terms as other outside groups. The No Child Left Behind Act (see sec. 2.7) prohibits schools that allow outside groups to use their facilities from discriminating against, "any group officially affili­ ated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic society)...." Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the loss of federal funds. However, schools are not required to sponsor organizations covered by the law.86 NCLB also requires that secondary schools (except those with a "verifiable" reli­ gious objection to military service) "shall provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational in­ stitutions or to prospective employers of those students."87 This requirement would seem to mean that military recruiters must be allowed to participate in school "job fairs" and "college nights." Searcey v. Harris88 suggests that a school that makes its facilities available to mili­ tary recruiters will also be constitutionally required to make its facilities equally avail­ able to groups that oppose military service. In Searcey, a case that predated NCLB, a peace group wanted to participate in a school's job fair in order to discourage students from entering the military but the school refused. Although the court agreed that the fair was not a public forum in that it was not open to any group that wanted to discuss any topic, the peace group still won the suit because the refusal was solely and impermissibly based on the district's disapproval of the group's point of view. In several other cases, courts have ruled that a school could exclude religious or other messages that outside groups or individuals wanted to post on its property. One case involved Columbine High School.89 Following the murder of twelve students in 1999, the school invited students, family members of victims, and rescue workers to

SUMMARY

71

make glazed tiles that would be installed in the halls of the school. The school specified that no references to the shooting, no religious symbols, and nothing obscene or offen­ sive could be inscribed on the tiles. Plaintiffs raised a free speech objection to the re­ strictions, but the court, relying on Hazelwood ruled in favor the school district. Hazelwood was the relevant precedent because the project was not a public forum; rather it was a school-sponsored event in which the posted messages would bear the imprimatur of the school. The court interpreted Hazelwood not to require viewpoint neutrality where peda­ gogical issues are involved. The restrictions imposed by the school were reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns: The prohibition of religious symbols served to avoid "divisiveness and disruption caused by unrestrained religious debate on the walls." The exclusion of references to the shooting helped to foster a positive learning environment and was permissible even though the school itself had posted references to the shooting in several places around the school. "We think," wrote the court, "it is reasonable for the District to place a few memorials in the school without having to allow unconstrained, controversial student debate about the shooting throughout the hallways." Outside groups may also seek access to school publications. The Ninth Circuit re­ jected a claim by Planned Parenthood that its free speech rights were violated when it was denied the opportunity to purchase advertising in school publications. Basing its ruling on Hazelwood, the court upheld the school's position that it may properly pro­ hibit all discussion of controversial topics in its publications and seek to avoid the im­ pression that it approves of Planned Parenthood's position. The court found that the school's policy of excluding advertising relating to birth control products and infor­ mation was viewpoint neutral.90 If the school had decided to permit the advertising by Planned Parenthood, it would also have been required to permit advertising by groups with opposing views even if the views had been religiously based.

3.6

SUMMARY

By their very nature, schools are places where students often wish to express their ideas through speech and other means. Inevitably, school officials will disagree with some student ideas and disapprove of some of their means of expression. However, the time has long past when schools could simply order students to keep their opin­ ions to themselves. Like all members of society, students have a constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression even when they pass through the schoolhouse gate. Like all arms of government, the public school must honor this right. In general, government may regulate speech only when necessary to achieve a compelling state purpose, and regulations of speech may be no more extensive than necessary to achieve the purpose. At the same time, all student rights including free speech must be understood in light of the school's need to accomplish its educational mission. In Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that student-initiated speech may not be curtailed based on disagreement with the ideas expressed. Speech may be prohibited if it materially and substantially disrupts the school's legitimate educational purpose or if it invades the

72

CHAPTER 3: STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

rights of others. Reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of speech de­ signed to accommodate competing interests and demand for facilities as well as prohi­ bitions against threats, fighting words, and obscene speech may also be enforced. The school has much greater authority to regulate speech occurring as part of its cur­ riculum or in any situation where speech appears to have the endorsement of the school. In these situations, regulation is permissible as long as it is "reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns." The school may control the content and style of the official school newspaper for various reasons, such as to teach journalism lessons, or may prohibit lewd and insulting campaign speeches at school assemblies. However, even in school-sponsored situations, prohibition of speech because of a disagreement with the ideas expressed is legally questionable. Under most circumstances freedom of speech also prohibits schools from restrain­ ing students from distributing independent publications at school, from denying ac­ cess to school facilities to student groups because of disagreement with the group's beliefs, and from limiting student off-campus speech in any way. The regulation of all these activities is permissible when necessary to avoid material and substantial disrup­ tion of the school. The school may limit use of its facilities by outside groups, but may not discriminate based on the viewpoint of the outside groups wishing to use the school.

NOTES

1. MADALINE REMMLEIN, SCHOOL LAW (2d ed. 1962). 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967). Clark v. Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288 (1984). Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989). Bishop v. Colaw, 450 F.2d 1069 (8th Cir. 1971); Gfell v. Rickelman, 441 F.2d 444 (6th Cir. 1971). Olesen v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. No. 228,676 F. Supp. 820 (N.D. I11. 1987); Bivens v. Albuquerque Pub. Schs., 899 F. Supp. 556 (D.N.M. 1995). 7. Canady v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 240 F.3d 437 (5th Cir. 2001); see also Long v. Bd. of Educ. of Jeffer­ son County, 121 F. Supp. 2d 621 (W.D. Ky. 2000). 8. Sypniewski v. Warren Hills Reg'l Bd. of Educ., 307 F.3d 243 (3rd Cir. 2002); Boroff v. Van Wert City Bd. of Educ., 220 F.3d 465 (6th Cir. 2000). 9. Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). 10. Chaplinksy v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942). 11. Lovell v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., 90 F.3d 367 (9th Cir. 1996). 12. Doe ex rel. Doe v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 306 F.3d 616 (8th Cir. 2002); compare J.S. ex rel. H.S. v. Bethlehem Area Sch. Dist., 807 A.2d 847 (Pa. 2002). 13. Bd. of Trustees of State Univ. of N.Y. v. Fox, 492 U.S. 469 (1989); Cent. Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Pub. Serv. Comm., 447 U.S. 557 (1980). 14. FCC v. Pacifica Found., 438 U.S. 726 (1978); but see Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971). 15. United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968). 16. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969). 17. Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919). 18. United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968). 19. Compare Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 (1963), with Feiner v. New York, 340 U.S. 315 (1951). 20. Perry Educ. Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n, 460 U.S. 37 (1983). 21. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989); Clark v. Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288 (1984). 22. 393 U.S. 503 (1969).

NOTES

73

23. Chalifoux v. New Caney Indep. Sch. Dist., 976 F. Supp. 659 (S.D. Tex. 1997). 24. Fricke v. Lynch, 491 F. Supp. 381 (D.R.I. 1980); but see Harper v. Edgewood Bd. of Educ., 655 F. Supp. 1353 (S.D. Ohio 1987). 25. Scoville v. Bd. of Educ. of Joliet Township, 425 F.2d 10 (7th Cir. 1970); Sullivan v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 307 F. Supp. 1328 (S.D. Tex. 1969); Shanley v. Northeast Indep. Sch. Dist., Bexar County, 462 F.2d 960 (5th Cir. 1972). 26. Jacobs v. Bd. of Sch. Comm'rs, 490 F.2d 601 (7th Cir. 1973); compare Frasca v. Andrews, 463 F. Supp. 1043 (E.D.N.Y. 1979). 27. Boroff v. Van Wert City Bd. of Educ., 220 F.3d 465 (6th Cir. 2000). 28. Adler v. Duval County Sch. Bd., 250 F.3d 1330 (11th Cir. 2001). 29. 465 F.2d 1332 (6th Cir. 1972). 30. See Guzick v. Drebus, 431 F.2d 594 (6th Cir. 1970); Olesen v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. No. 228,676 F. Supp. 820 (N.D. I11. 1987); Hernandez v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, Denver, 315 F. Supp. 289 (D.Colo. 1970). 31. 246 F.3d 536 (6th Cir. 2001). 32. 257 F.3d 981 (9th Cir. 2001). 33. 976 F. Supp. 659 (S.D. Tex. 1997). 34. 563 F.2d 512 (2d Cir. 1977). 35. Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood Sch. Dist., 795 F.2d 1368 (8th Cir. 1986), rev'd, Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988). 36. Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (1968). 37. Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986). 38. Scoville v. Bd. of Educ. of Joliet Township, 425 F.2d 10 (7th Cir. 1970). 39. Papish v. Bd. of Curators of Univ. of Mo., 410 U.S. 667 (1973). 40. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942); Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972). 41. Lovell v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., 90 F.3d 367 (9th Cir. 1996); LaVine v. Blaine Sch. Dist., 257 F.3d 981 (9th Cir. 2001). 42. 505 U.S. 377(1992). 43. Sypniewski v. Warren Hills Reg'l Bd. of Educ., 307 F.3d 243 (3d Cir. 2002). 44. Williams v. Spencer, 622 F.2d 1200 (4th Cir. 1980). 45. 673 F. Supp. 1379 (M.D. Pa. 1987). 46. Slotterback v. Interboro Sch. Dist., 766 F. Supp. 280 (E.D. Pa. 1991); Rivera v. E. Otero Sch. Dist., R-l, 721 F. Supp. 1189 (D. Colo. 1989); Nelson v. Moline Sch. Dist. No. 40, 725 F. Supp. 965 (C.D. I11. 1989). 47. 250 F.3d 1330 (11th Cir. 2001). 48. Cole v. Oroville Union High Sch. Dist., 228 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir. 2000). 49. Hemry v. Sch. Bd. of Colo. Springs Sch. Dist. No. 11, 760 F. Supp. 856 (D. Colo. 1991). 50. Lipkis v. Caveney, 96 Cal. Rptr. 779 (Cal. Ct. App. 1971). 51. Slotterback v. Interboro Sch. Dist., 766 F. Supp. 280 (E.D. Pa. 1991). 52. Muller v. Jefferson Lighthouse Sch., 98 F.3d 1530 (7th Cir. 1996). 53. 440 F.2d 803 (2d Cir. 1971). 54. 861 F.2d 1149 (9th Cir. 1988); see also Fujishima v. Bd. of Educ., 460 F.2d 1355 (7th Cir. 1972). 55. Littlefieldv. Forney Indep. Sch. Dist., 268 F.3d275 (5th Cir. 2001); Canady v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 240 F.3d 437 (5th Cir. 2001); see also Long v. Bd. of Educ. of Jefferson County, 121 F. Supp. 2d 621 (W.D. Ky. 2000). 56. 478 U.S. 675 (1986). 57. 484 U.S. 260(1988). 58. 299 F. Supp. 102 (S.D.N.Y. 1969). 59. San Diego Comm. Against Registration & the Draft v. Governing Bd. of Grossmont Union High Sch. Dist., 790 F.2d 1471 (9th Cir. 1986). 60. Desilets v. Clearview Reg'l Bd. of Educ., 647 A.2d 150 (N.J. 1994). 61. Settle v. Dickson County Sch. Bd., 53 F.3d 152 (6th Cir. 1995); Duran v. Nitsche, 780 F. Supp. 1048 (E.D. Pa. 1991), vacated, 972 F.3d 1331 (3d Cir. 1992). 62. Pylev. S.Hadley Sch.Comm.,861 F. Supp. 157(D.Mass. 1994),modified,55F.3d20(lstCir. 1995); see also Heller v. Hodgin, 928 F. Supp. 789 (S.D. Ind. 1996); Broussard v. Sch. Bd. of Norfolk, 801 F. Supp. 1526 (E.D. Va. 1992); Gano v. Sch. Dist. No. 411 of Twin Falls County, Idaho, 674 F. Supp. 796 (D. Idaho 1987). 63. 872 F.2d 757 (6th Cir. 1989). 64. Henerey ex rel. Henerey v. St. Charles, 200 F.3d 1128 (8th Cir. 1999).

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65. Fleming v. Jefferson County Sch. Dist. R-l, 298 F.3d 918 (10th Cir. 2002); C.H. ex rel. Z.H. v. Oliva, 195 F.3d 167 (3d Cir. 1999), vacated, 197 F.3d 63 (3d Cir. 1999) (en banc), qff'd in part and rev 'd in part, 226 F.3d 198 (3d Cir. 2000) (en banc); Ward v. Hickey, 996 F.2d 448 (1st Cir. 1993). 66. Kincaid v. Gibson, 191 F.3d 719 (6th Cir. 1999), rev'don other grounds, 236 F.3d 342 (6th Cir. 2001) (en banc); Planned Parenthood v. Clark County Sch. Dist., 941 F.2d 817 (9th Cir. 1991); Searcey v. Har­ ris, 888 F.2d 1314(11th Cir. 1989); compare Downs v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., 228 F.3d 1003 (9th Cir. 2000). 67. Crosby v. Holsinger, 852 F.2d 801 (4th Cir. 1988). 68. Phoenix Elementary Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Green, 943 P.2d 836 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1997). 69. Kicklighter v. Evans, 968 F. Supp. 712 (S.D. Ga. 1997), qff'd, 140 F.3d 1043 (11th Cir. 1998). 70. 220 F.3d 465 (6th Cir. 2000). 71. Chandler v. McMinnville Sch. Dist., 978 F.2d 524 (9th Cir. 1992). 72. 607 F.2d 1043 (2d Cir. 1979). 73. 423 F. Supp. 767 (W.D. Pa. 1976). 74. 807 A.2d 847 (Pa. 2002). 75. Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169 (1972). 76. Gay Lib v. Univ. of Mo., 558 F.2d 848 (8th Cir. 1977); Gay Student Serv. v. Tex. A&M Univ., 737 F.2d 1317 (5th Cir. 1984). 77. 361 F. Supp. 253 (E.D. Mich. 1973). 78. 20 U.S.C. §4071. 79. Student Coalition for Peace v. Lower Merion Sch. Dist. Bd., 776 F.2d 431 (3d Cir. 1985). 80. N.Y. State Club Ass'n, Inc. v. City of New York, 487 U.S. 1 (1988); Bd. of Dir. of Rotary Int'l v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 481 U.S. 537 (1987); Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609 (1984). 81. Pickings v. Bruce, 430 F.2d 595 (8th Cir. 1970); Solmitz v. Maine Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 59,495 A.2d 812 (Me. 1985). 82. Searcey v. Harris, 888 F.2d 1314 (11th Cir. 1989). 83. 508 U.S. 384(1993). 84. 533 U.S. 98 (2001). 85. Bronx Household v. Cmty. Sch. Dist. No. 10, 127 F.3d 207 (2d Cir. 1997). 86. 20 U.S.C. § 7908. 87. 20 U.S.C. §7905. 88. 888 F.2d 1314 (llth Cir. 1989). 89. Fleming v. Jefferson County Sch. Dist. R-l, 298 F.3d 918 (10th Cir. 2002); see also DiLoreto v. Downey Unified Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 196 F.3d 958 (9th Cir. 1999); compare Anderson v. Mexico Acad. & Cent. Sch., 186 F. Supp. 2d 193 (N.D.N.Y. 2002). 90. Planned Parenthood v. Clark County Sch. Dist., 941 F.2d 817 (9th Cir. 1991) (en banc).

CHAPTER

4

STUDENT DISCIPLINE

Most school administrators are all too familiar with activities designed to control stu­ dent conduct. Indeed, the duties of school administrators have always included tasks that, in society at large, are the province of legislators, police, courts, and penal sys­ tems. This chapter provides the legal basis for the performance of these tasks. The chapter considers the formulation of school rules, the investigation of suspected mis­ conduct, and the assignment and enforcement of punishment. The always complex job of maintaining order in school and disciplining students when they misbehave has become even more difficult because of a rise in the number of disciplinary problems in schools and because of changes in the law. Both students and school officials report an increase in violence, drug use, and other illegal and dis­ ruptive acts. Parents consistently place school safety at or near the top of their list of educational concerns. Highly publicized incidents of shootings and other serious crim­ inal acts at schools have led to public and legislative pressure to make the schools safer. Researchers have concluded that when the atmosphere of the school leads stu­ dents to feel unsafe, learning decreases, thereby further emphasizing the need to main­ tain an orderly atmosphere. These sociological and psychological trends have been accompanied by significant changes in the law. These changes have both empowered school officials to deal with disruptions and increased the legal threat to school officials if they fail to deal with vio­ lence and crime adequately. Some states' constitutions actually give students the right to safe schools.1 The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that any student who attends a "persistently dangerous public school" or who becomes a victim of a violent crime at school must be allowed to transfer to a safe public school or charter school within the district. States are required to determine which schools are to be classified as persistently dangerous in consultation with school districts.2 75

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Many states have adopted so-called Safe School Acts that impose on school boards a duty to adopt disciplinary policy review committees and student codes of conduct and require school administrators to report to law enforcement officials whenever they believe that certain specified categories of criminal activity have occurred at school. School officials who fail to comply with these requirements may face liability for neg­ ligent indifference to dangerous school conditions. This statutory liability supple­ ments the preexisting common law duty (discussed in chap. 10) that all school officials have to provide adequate supervision in schools and to protect students from violence by other students. Some Safe School Acts also make the perpetrator of violence liable to the victim for double or even treble damages and make parents accountable for the harmful behavior of their children. Criminal penalties have also been increased for stu­ dents possessing guns or drugs or committing violence in school. At the same time, school officials who are overly zealous in carrying out their disci­ plinary responsibilities face possible legal liability for violating the rights of their stu­ dents under federal and state law. A federal law known as Section 1983 makes it possible for students to collect monetary damages from school officials who violate their clearly established constitutional or statutory rights (see sec. 10.9). Educators who conduct very invasive searches of students in violation of constitutional guide­ lines or who impose impermissibly harsh or cruel punishment on students are espe­ cially vulnerable. School officials thus must walk a narrow path. The law demands, communities ex­ pect, and students deserve a vigorous effort to maintain a safe and orderly school en­ vironment. Yet, in all functions relating to student discipline, the law demands that the rights of students as persons under federal and state constitutions be protected. At the same time, the law recognizes that the school's need for an orderly environment and the special status of students as children justify more control than the society at large exercises over adults. Many of the most difficult questions in education law concern the conflict between the individual rights of students and the corporate needs of the school. The basic principle of lawful student discipline is that schools can justify only as much rule making, policing, adjudicating, and punishing as is necessary to promote their legitimate goals. Schools should utilize all lawful means to control student be­ havior when control is necessary to protect persons or property, promote learning, or prevent disruption of the educational process; however, gratuitous control of students is not justifiable. The law will support school officials when they act reasonably to pro­ mote safety and order, but care must be taken not to suppress or punish unpopular be­ havior when there is no legitimate reason to do so. 4.1

THE MAKING OF RULES

State legislatures have delegated to local school boards, usually in broad and general terms, the authority to maintain discipline and order in the schools. Once, most school boards executed their delegated disciplinary authority without a large number of ex­ pressly stated written rules of student conduct. Students were simply ordered not to misbehave, and it was left to administrators and teachers to decide whether misbehav­ ior had occurred and what to do about it. This system—mirroring the internal processes

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of the family—was consistent with the view of educators as surrogate parents. Just like parents, educators had broad latitude in evaluating and responding to the behavior of the children in their charge. Discipline without rules has certain advantages, especially when the disciplinarian is thoughtful and well-meaning. The absence of preestablished regulations and proce­ dures can promote the creative resolution of disciplinary problems, whereas rigid reg­ ulation can promote conflict, with students and school officials behaving like opposing lawyers seeking strategic advantage through the exploitation of loopholes. An excessive reliance on rules can change the relationship between students and teach­ ers from familiar to estranged. However, discipline without a formal written set of rules has important disadvan­ tages. Broad discretion almost inevitably leads to the inequitable application of stan­ dards and punishment on the basis of race, sex, social class, personal dislike, or negative reputation. Moreover, in the absence of a formal system of rules, students may remain confused and uncertain about the limits of acceptable behavior. In the terminology of constitutional law, an authority system that operates without explicit rules raises an issue of due process. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. One of the implications of this requirement is that people may be convicted and pun­ ished for criminal acts only on the basis of laws that were adopted prior to the commis­ sion of the acts. The idea is that fairness demands that people be notified in advance of behavior that is unacceptable so that they may conform their behavior to required stan­ dards. In addition, the existence of preestablished rules helps avoid the problem of dif­ ferent law enforcement officials taking different views as to what is allowable. Sensitive to the dangers of interjecting the formal requirements of adult criminal law into the schools, the courts have struck a compromise. On the one hand, punish­ ment of flagrantly disruptive and destructive behaviors that ordinary students can rea­ sonably be expected to realize are prohibited, such as fighting and vandalism, is permitted even without prior announcement of rules.3 On the other hand, most courts do require preestablished rules for the punishment of conduct that many students would not realize as a matter of common sense is prohibited. A few courts go so far as to require on constitutional grounds that the rules be written,4 and a few states' statutes also require written rules. Additionally, some courts require published rules when speech activities are prohibited or when penalties are particularly severe.5 Even if courts do not always demand it, many schools wisely choose to develop a written code of student conduct to encourage compliance and avoid unfairness, confusion, and po­ tential litigation. School boards generally have broad powers to control student conduct delegated to them by the legislature6 that they in turn may delegate to their professional employees. However, some rules go beyond the scope of the school's authority. Neuhaus v. Frederico7 involved a challenge by a group of boys to a high school's rule regulating the length of male students' hair. The rule had been adopted by a committee of stu­ dents, parents, and teachers and approved by a vote of the student body as part of a dress code. The school defended the rule as authorized by a state statute allowing school boards to "establish rules for the government of the schools and pupils." Inter­ preting the statute as authorizing only rules that "have some reasonable connection to

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the educational process," the court ruled in favor of the students. The school could present no credible evidence that long hair on boys was likely to cause disruption or pose a health and safety risk or in any way interfere with the operation of the school. Furthermore, the court was concerned that the rule impermissibly and arbitrarily regu­ lated off-campus behavior because, unlike clothing, hair length could not be modified upon returning home. Finally, although the court commended the school for allowing students to develop their own dress code, it pointed out that the school could not en­ force a rule that was beyond its scope of authority regardless of the origin of the rule. Several other, but not all, courts have agreed with Neuhaus that hair regulations are beyond the statutory authority of the school.8 However, most cases attacking rules governing the length of students' hair are based on state or federal constitutional protections of free speech, free exercise of religion, or equal protection. Cases based on free speech often fail because many courts do not consider hair length a form of expression.9 Likewise, free exercise claims usually fail unless the plaintiff can show that the regulation requires violating an important and clearly established tenet of religion, not just custom or preference.10 In one case, Native-American students were able to use the Free Exercise Clause in conjunction with other constitutional principles to bar en­ forcement of a rule that boys' hair should be no longer than the top of a standard dress collar. The plaintiffs presented expert testimony that long hair was an aspect of Native-American religious life, that it had important symbolic meaning (i.e., it was a form of speech), and that the right of parents to control the upbringing of their children would be compromised by enforcement of the rule. The school was unable to prove that the hair regulation was necessary to maintain order in the school.11 Fourteenth Amendment-based challenges to hair regulation often invoke the right of privacy, a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause.12 Plaintiffs have suc­ ceeded in the First, Second, Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits,13 but the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have upheld the regulations.14 In a case based on its state constitution, the Texas Supreme Court concluded that minors do not have the same constitutional rights under the Texas Constitution as adults. Hence, a school's restrictions on hair length and the wearing of earrings did not raise a state constitutional issue.15 It is questionable whether most other state high courts would en­ dorse this reasoning. The authority of school officials to regulate what students wear has also been chal­ lenged on statutory and constitutional grounds. For the most part, courts have affirmed the statutory authority of schools to enforce reasonable clothing regulations. For ex­ ample, in Fowler v. Williamson16 the court allowed the school to prohibit the wearing of jeans to graduation. However, several courts have concluded that school officials exceeded their authority when they barred female students from wearing pants or cu­ lottes without proof that wearing these garments caused disruption, endangered the safety of students, harmed instructional effectiveness, or injured student morals.17 In evaluating a constitutionally based challenge to a school's dress code, the court in Wallace v. Ford 18 concluded that although students do enjoy a constitutional right to govern their appearance, the school may nevertheless enforce rules designed to pro­ mote its educational mission. The court noted that less justification is needed for cloth­ ing regulations than hair regulations because the latter also control students' appearance away from school, but the former do not. Based on this approach, the court

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upheld regulations prohibiting excessively tight skirts or pants and skirts more than six inches above the knee, but disallowed regulations prohibiting frayed trousers, tie-dyed clothing, and longer skirts. Another court disallowed a rule prohibiting the wearing of jeans.19 Generally, school dress codes are constitutionally permissible when necessary to avoid distraction or disruption of the educational process. (See discussion of school uniforms in sec. 3.1 and 3.2.) The once-common practice of excluding married students from school was found to exceed the district's authority in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School Dis­ trict v. Knight;20 however, several courts have allowed rules excluding married stu­ dents from extracurricular activities.21 Even if they are within the school's statutory authority, rules that discriminate against married students might violate their constitu­ tional right of privacy.22 "Zero-tolerance" policies; that is, rules requiring that students be expelled for possession of drugs or weapons, may also be vulnerable to constitu­ tional challenges when applied in an arbitrary manner (see sec. 4.5).23 When schools seek to regulate off-campus behavior, their authority may be chal­ lenged. A number of mostly older decisions affirm the school's authority to prohibit such conduct as drinking, drug use, fighting, and patronizing certain stores and events, but they are of questionable validity today. Most recent cases only permit regulation of off-campus conduct that "has a direct and immediate effect on the discipline or general welfare of the school."24 Thus, although disciplining a student for attacking a teacher off school grounds is definitely permissible, most out-of-school behavior is beyond the school's power. (See sec. 3.4 regarding regulation of off-campus speech.) School rules may also be challenged on the constitutional grounds of vagueness or overbreadth. Vague rules violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amend­ ment because, like no rules at all, they fail to provide adequate notice of what is im­ permissible and they invite uneven, biased, and variable application. In criminal law a rule is unconstitutionally vague if persons "of common intelligence must necessar­ ily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application."25 Courts do not require that school rules be as precisely crafted as criminal laws, but courts nevertheless insist that rules give students a reasonable opportunity to know and understand what they may and may not do. Thus, one court blocked the enforcement of a regulation that stated that "Gang related activities such as display of 'colors,' symbols, signals, signs, etc. will not be tolerated on school grounds." The Eighth Circuit found the regulation imper­ missibly vague because the term "gang related activities" was not defined and left students unclear about what was not allowed and gave school officials too much discretion to decide what constituted a gang symbol. The court noted that the rule could have been used to punish students for wearing cross earrings or baseball caps or if their shoes were untied. 26 Other examples of school rules found to be imper­ missibly vague are: • • • •

A prohibition of the use of alcohol or drugs "prior to" coming on school grounds.27 A rule against "misconduct."28 A rule forbidding "inappropriate actions" or "unacceptable behaviors."29 A requirement that students be "neatly dressed and groomed, maintaining stan­ dards of modesty and good taste conducive to an educational atmosphere."30

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However, in Alex v. Alien,31 the court disagreed with students who claimed that rules against "flagrant disrespect of teachers," "loitering in the heavy areas of traffic," "rowdy behavior or running in the building," "locker misuse," "extreme dress or appearance which is disruptive to class," and "hand-holding and other displays of affection" were impermissibly vague. The court pointed out that schools should have more flexibility in making rules than legislatures do in writing criminal statutes. The court felt that the chal­ lenged rules were directed at conduct that "clearly disrupts the educational process," and that they spelled out in "sufficient detail the conduct that is forbidden." The Alex court also rejected the claim that the challenged rules were overbroad. An overbroad rule does more than necessary to achieve the desired ends and in so doing infringes on constitutionally protected rights. The issue of overbreadth arises most often in connection with the regulation of speech.32 Rules are unconstitutionally overbroad not because they prohibit a specific constitutionally protected act but be­ cause they could be applied to other constitutionally protected behavior. For example, a student punished for distributing obscene literature at school in violation of a school rule banning distribution of all literature could object to the overbreadth of the rule. The distribution of obscene material is not constitutionally protected, but many of the behaviors that the rule might inhibit are. Rules prohibiting "hate speech;" that is, speech that attacks or offends particular racial, ethnic, or gender groups, may raise the issues of vagueness and overbreadth (see sec. 3.2). In addition to the constraints of the Constitution, federal statutes may limit the school's authority to formulate rules. For example, the school could not enforce rules prohibiting students from engaging in meetings that are their right under the Equal Ac­ cess Act (see sec. 2.7). Federal law also regulates the disciplining of students with dis­ abilities (see sec. 6.3). 4.2

THE USE OF FORCE TO CONTROL STUDENTS

This section considers the law relating to the use of force by school officials to enforce school rules and prevent injury, damage, or disruption. Examples include forcibly con­ ducting a misbehaving student to the principal's office, physically seizing fighting stu­ dents to pull them apart, and force in self-defense. Corporal punishment, the deliberate inflicting of physical pain to punish misbehavior, is considered separately in Section 4.5. Both the federal Constitution and state common law and statute bear on the author­ ity of school officials to use force to maintain order in the school. The relevant provi­ sions of the Constitution are the Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable ... seizures" and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Seventh Circuit has ruled that a teacher or administrator violates the Fourth Amendment by physically controlling a student "only when the restriction of liberty is unreasonable under the circumstances then existing and apparent." Based on this principle, the court concluded that a teacher did not violate a student's Fourth Amendment right when the teacher grabbed the student first by the wrist and subsequently by the elbow to speed her exit from the classroom. The student had engaged in a verbal altercation that had the potential to erupt into violence.33 The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits have recognized that the Due Process Clause's protection of bodily integrity and security applies to students. The

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Ninth Circuit has outlined a set of criteria for deciding whether this right has been vi­ olated when a school official forcibly controls a student: (a) the need for the use of force, (b) the relation between the need and the action, (c) the extent of harm to the student, and (d) whether the action was taken in good faith or for the purpose of caus­ ing harm. The court used these factors to find against a high school principal who, with little provocation, punched, choked, and slapped three different students.34 These doctrine and decisions indicate that using force to control students is constitu­ tionally permissible when necessary to maintain order as long as the force used is proportional to the need. State common law, both civil and criminal, and state criminal statutes generally pro­ hibit the use of force by one person against another with certain exceptions. Parents, school officials, and other adults with charge over children may use reasonable force to maintain order and discipline. The reasonableness of the force directed at a child is de­ termined by a number of factors including its purpose; the age, sex, and physical and mental condition of the child; the nature of the offense; the influence of the child's be­ havior on other children; the extent of the harm inflicted; and whether the force was disproportionate to the offense or was unnecessarily degrading.35 In general, school of­ ficials may use force to enforce school rules when it is necessary and reasonable under the circumstances. (See sec. 10.1 for a discussion of tort claims that may result from unreasonable uses of force that cause harm to a student.)

4.3

THE INVESTIGATION OF MISCONDUCT

When school officials suspect a violation of a school rule or that a criminal act has been committed by a student at school, they may need to investigate. When the safety of other students or personnel is involved, they may have a duty to investigate (see sec. 10.4 on the duty to maintain a safe environment). Investigations can take many forms, including surveillance, questioning, and searching students, their possessions, or their lockers. Anybody even vaguely familiar with the controversies surrounding police investi­ gations will realize that these investigations can and do implicate important constitu­ tional rights. The Fifth Amendment rights not to be a witness against oneself, to be protected from a coerced confession, and to receive a Miranda warning and the Fourth Amendment right not to be subjected to a search without probable cause are vigorously protected in the adult criminal law. The question here is whether these protections ex­ tend into the schools. Do these same rights protect students in their in-school dealings with the police and school officials? Regarding the police, the answer is yes. Minors do enjoy many of the same constitu­ tional protections from the police as adults when suspected of a crime.36 Whether these same protections must guide the investigations of school officials is more complex. In Miranda v. Arizona, 37 the Supreme Court said that the Fifth Amendment's pro­ tection against being forced to be a witness against oneself requires that suspects taken into custody be informed of their right to remain silent and to consult an attor­ ney and of certain other rights. Interrogations may only proceed with strict proce­ dural safeguards against forced self-incrimination. Some student-plaintiffs have

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argued that the same protections should be afforded to students under investigation by school officials, but courts have concluded that when an interrogation is con­ ducted entirely by school officials with no police involvement, students do not have the right to remain silent and the school officials are not required to give the student a Miranda warning.38 One court ruled that a student's rights were not violated when a school official interrogated the student for twenty minutes about a bomb threat after two other students had implicated him.39 The Fourth Amendment protects against "unreasonable searches and seizures." Fourth Amendment protections apply only in cases when someone is searched. To de­ termine if an investigation is a search for Fourth Amendment purposes, courts ask whether the person allegedly searched had an expectation of privacy and, if so, whether the expectation was one that society recognizes as reasonable.40 Consider, for example, an item left in "plain view" on the front seat of an automobile parked in a school's parking lot. A school official or police officer who looks into the car and sees the item has not conducted a search because leaving the item on the front seat of the car indicates that the owner had no expectation of privacy or that any claimed expectation of privacy is not reasonable.41 Similarly, there is no expectation of privacy if someone loses a purse or backpack. Thus, if school officials look through a lost purse for identi­ fication and find controlled substances, the controlled substances are considered to have been in plain view.42 Surveillance, even surreptitious surveillance through a twoway mirror, of areas normally open to inspection, such as classrooms, school yards, and even public areas of a washroom, is not a search.43 Locker investigations by school officials are not regarded by most courts as searches. Courts commonly reason that because the locker is jointly controlled by the student and the school, the student does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, at least against school officials.44 In most jurisdictions, school officials are free to con­ duct random, unannounced locker searches for drugs or to use drug-sniffing dogs to identify lockers for further examination. They must be careful, however, not to select lockers for examination on the basis of race, gender, or other discriminatory criteria. In a few states, courts have taken the opposite view: students do have an expectation of privacy with respect to their lockers against school officials.45 In these states, school officials may not search lockers unless the criteria discussed later in this section are met. However, one court has ruled that, even if students do have an expectation of pri­ vacy, school officials may still search lockers without cause if they have informed stu­ dents in advance of the possibility of random searches.46 Even in jurisdictions where random locker searches are permitted, it may still be impermissible to randomly search backpacks and other containers found in lockers. 47 Some courts view a school official's examination of the contents of a locker as a search subject to Fourth Amendment safeguards. 48 An Ohio Court of Appeals ruled unconstitutional a state statute that authorized school officials to search lock­ ers and contents of lockers if the school posted a notice that the lockers were the property of the school and subject to random search at any time. The state simply had no right, said the court, to proclaim that, contrary to the right of privacy guaran­ teed by the U.S. Constitution, personal items like book bags were subject to search at will. 49 With so much uncertainty in this area, it would seem prudent for schools wishing to retain the right to randomly search student lockers to inform students in

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advance of the possibility and for all schools to refrain from searching closed con­ tainers found within lockers unless the criteria for reasonable searches discussed later in this section are met. If the police initiate and carry out a locker search, the investigation is viewed as a search for Fourth Amendment purposes, whether or not school officials also take part in the search. Other joint investigations of lockers by police and school officials may be viewed as searches depending on the circumstances and the court's view of the sta­ tus of school lockers.50 Whether a sniff by a dog trained to detect drugs is a search is only partially settled. The Supreme Court has said that a dog sniff of luggage at an airport is not a search.51 However, the use of drug-sniffing dogs at school raises different issues. In Horton v. Goose Creek Independent School District,52 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that dog sniffing of cars or lockers is not a search, but that sniffing of students them­ selves is a search for Fourth Amendment purposes. The court explained that the odors emanating from cars or lockers are left open to public perception. Their examination poses little threat of embarrassment or discomfort to innocent students. Officials are free to use dogs to enhance their perception just as they are free to use binoculars to en­ hance their perception of objects left in plain sight. However, the examination of bodily odors is different, explained the court: [T]he intensive smelling of people, even if done by dogs, [is] indecent and demeaning. Most persons in our society deliberately attempt not to expose the odors emanating from their bodies to public smell. In contrast, where the Supreme Court has upheld lim­ ited investigations of body characteristics not justified by individualized suspicion, it has done so on the grounds that the particular characteristic was routinely exhibited to the public. Intentional close proximity sniffing of the person is offensive whether the sniffer be canine or human. One can imagine the embarrassment which a young adoles­ cent, already self-conscious about his or her body, might experience when a dog, being handled by a representative of the school administration, enters the classroom specifi­ cally for the purpose of sniffing the air around his or her person. We need only look at the record in this case to see how a dog's sniffing technique— i.e., sniffing around each child, putting his nose on the child and scratching and manifesting other signs of excitement in the case of an alert—is intrusive.

If a student voluntarily consents to a search, the Fourth Amendment imposes no constraints, whether the search is conducted by school officials or the police. How­ ever, waivers of constitutional rights are valid only when freely given by someone who fully comprehends the options.53 This standard requires more than acquiescence or failure to resist; there is a strong presumption that an individual would not knowingly waive a constitutional right when doing so would reveal evidence of wrongdoing. The court in Tarter v. Raybuck54 phrased the doctrine as follows: We are not convinced that David Tarter knowingly and intelligently waived his consti­ tutional rights when he "consented" to be searched, and we are inclined to resolve this case on the basis of consent. The burden would be upon defendants to demonstrate such a voluntary relinquishment of constitutional rights by plaintiff. There is a presumption against the waiver of constitutional rights. That he may have acquiesced in the initial search does not necessarily demonstrate the relinquishment of his rights to challenge his initial search. In fact, David Tarter's testimony was that he only submitted to the

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search because he was afraid. Furthermore, there is no indication he even was aware that he might have had a constitutional right to object to a search.

Thus, the student who empties pocket or purse after being ordered to do so has not consented to the search. Nor would consent be seen as voluntary if school officials use tactics of intimidation or coercion: "If you agree to empty your pockets, I won't call the police." The best policy is never to search students on the basis of their consent alone but only when the criteria set down in New Jersey v. T.L.O.55 (explained later in this section) are met. Even if a student refuses voluntarily to consent to a search, school of­ ficials may continue to question the student. The student's response to the questions may provide sufficient justification for a subsequent search.56 In Webb v. McCuIlough,57 the Sixth Circuit held that school officials are not limited by the Fourth Amendment when chaperoning school-sponsored trips with parental consent. In this situation the authority of school officials was found to be analogous to that of parents who have wide latitude to search their children. It is probable that not all courts would reach the same conclusion. In Kuehn v. Renton School District No. 403,58 the court prohibited the searching of the luggage of all members of a band as a precon­ dition for participation in a concert trip. The objections students raise to school searches are typically prompted by a desire to invoke the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule requires the suppression of evi­ dence seized in violation of Fourth Amendment guidelines.59 The courts are in general, but not unanimous, agreement that evidence illegally seized by school officials may not be used against students in a criminal or juvenile delinquency hearing.60 Courts are split regarding whether the exclusionary rule applies in school disciplinary hearings.61 The highest court in New York ruled that a weapon discovered in a student's posses­ sion by an illegal search and thus excluded from use in a juvenile delinquency hearing could nevertheless be used in a school disciplinary proceeding.62 Another motivation for objecting to searches is that a federal statute63 makes it pos­ sible for students to seek monetary damages from school officials who violate their Fourth Amendment or other constitutional rights.64 In theory, monetary damages are possible against both the school district and the offending officials personally, but in practice damages have proved difficult to obtain (see sec. 10.9).65 The T.L.O. Case Determining whether an investigation by a school official constitutes a search is only the first step in determining whether the investigation is permissible. The Fourth Amendment prohibits only "unreasonable" searches, so the question is: Under what circumstances are searches of students by school officials reasonable? After many years of conflicting lower court decisions, the Supreme Court addressed this question in 1985. The case, New Jersey v. T.L.O.,66 involved a student, T.L.O., seen smoking by a teacher in the girls' bathroom in violation of the rules of the school. The teacher es­ corted T.L.O. to the principal's office, where, under questioning, T.L.O. denied that she had been smoking or that she smoked at all. The principal then demanded to see

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T.L.O. 's purse. Opening the purse, the principal found a pack of cigarettes that he re­ moved as evidence that T.L.O. was lying. As he did so, he saw a pack of rolling pa­ pers in the purse. This caused the principal to suspect that T.L.O. might possess marijuana. He then proceeded to search the rest of the purse and found marijuana as well as other evidence implicating T.L.O. in the selling of illegal drugs. This evi­ dence was turned over to the police and used to convict T.L.O. of delinquency in ju­ venile court. T.L.O. challenged the conviction, claiming that the search of her purse was impermissible under the Fourth Amendment and that the evidence thus obtained should be suppressed. In order to evaluate T.L.O.'s claim, the Court first had to determine "the proper standard for assessing the legality of searches conducted by public school officials." In other words, the Court had to adopt a rule or procedure to determine when an educator's search of a student is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The Court noted that some lower courts had previously held, on the basis of the doctrine of in loco pa­ rentis, that school officials were exempt from the limitations of the Fourth Amend­ ment, but this idea was rejected as being "in tension with contemporary reality and the teachings of the Court." Conversely, the Court also rejected the view of some lower courts that educators should be required to show "probable cause;" that is, very great likelihood that a search would reveal evidence of a crime, in order to satisfy the Fourth Amendment. In so doing, the Court recognized that although educators are not their students' parents, neither are they police officers. Instead, the Court fashioned a compromise in keeping with the wording of the Fourth Amendment itself: School officials may search a student only if they have rea­ sonable cause to believe that the search will reveal evidence of a crime or the violation of a school rule. Thus, the Supreme Court formulated a rule designed to accommodate the school's need to keep order while at the same time recognizing the students' right to be free from unreasonable searches. Applying this analysis to the facts in T.L.O., the Court found that the principal had satisfied the requirement of reasonableness. Looking in the purse for cigarettes was di­ rectly related to the question of the credibility of T.L.O. 's denial that she ever smoked. Once the initial search for the cigarettes had incidentally revealed the rolling papers, the suspicion of drug possession was also reasonable, thus justifying the remainder of the search. For this reason, T.L.O.'s appeal was denied. Applying the T.L.O. Guidelines

The doctrine formulated in T.L. O. limits school searches to situations that meet the fol­ lowing conditions: A school official must have reasonable grounds to believe that a search of a specific individual will produce relevant evidence that the individual has violated a specific school rule or law. T.L.O. also places limits on the scope or nature of the search. The T.L.O. criteria apply only to searches by school officials, not to searches by the police. Police, even when they come to school, must conform their searches to a differ­ ent standard. (On the issue of school searches that also have some degree of police in­ volvement, see Cason v. Cook.67)

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School officials may search only on the basis of reasonable grounds. Officials must have evidence that makes it reasonable to believe that the search is likely to be fruitful. Although it is impossible to state a precise definition of reasonable grounds, courts are unlikely to accept vague suspicion unsupported by evidence pointing to a specific act of wrongdoing. Thus, in Matter of Pima County Juvenile Action,68 a stu­ dent was seen near bleachers where students congregated for various reasons includ­ ing drug use. The student previously had been mentioned in a staff meeting in a discussion of drug use, but the principal had no personal knowledge regarding the student's conduct, no prior reports of drug use or sale, and no other reason to suspect he had drugs in his pockets. The court concluded that the principal did not have rea­ sonable grounds to search the student. However, in a similar case, a search of two boys found without passes in a restroom known as a haven for drug use and sale was upheld.69 In another case, the court said a school official accompanying students on a field trip was justified in searching a student's hotel room when he smelled mari­ juana outside the room.70 Sometimes statements by another student—for example, one who witnesses a crime—can form the basis of the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify a search.71 Often the issue depends on the trustworthiness of the student informant under the cir­ cumstances. One court declared that information supplied by a student informant may be the basis for a search "[a]bsent information that a particular student informant may be untrustworthy."72 In another case, a school's failure to check whether student infor­ mants were trustworthy—the informants were in fact students who had a possible mo­ tive to falsely accuse the searched student of carrying drugs—led the court to conclude that the search (which turned up no drugs) was illegal.73 The reasonable grounds or suspicion must generally be directed at the specific indi­ vidual or individuals to be searched. Although T.L.O. itself says nothing about sweep searches of all students in the hope of turning up incriminating evidence, a number of other courts have declared this practice to be impermissible.74 There are a number of exceptions to this rule such as certain instances of random drug testing of pupils and the use of metal detectors (both discussed later). In addition, some courts have upheld sweep searches of students when school officials believed that one among a number of students was carrying a weapon. The necessity of keeping the school free of weapons was found to justify these searches even in the absence of individualized suspicion.75 The requirement of individualized suspicion is enforced with the greatest vigor in connection with strip searches. The more intrusive the search, the more likely that the courts will insist that school officials have good reasons to suspect the student.76 The Sixth Circuit allowed a strip search based on a tip from an informant only after the court had satisfied itself that the school official had questioned the informant to make sure the tip was not motivated by malice.77 The point of the search must be to uncover relevant evidence that would help to es­ tablish that a student did in fact violate a specific school rule or law. In T.L.O., the search began with a view toward showing that T.L.O. had smoked. In the process of that search, evidence of drug dealing came into plain view. This justified continuing the search, in effect a second search, for additional relevant evidence of drug use or drug dealing. Note, however, that, for example, even a strong suspicion that a student had phoned in a false bomb threat would not justify a search of the student's pockets.

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In Cales v. Howell Public Schools,78 a security guard caught a student ducking be­ hind cars in the school parking lot. The student also gave a false name when ques­ tioned. In finding the search in this case illegal, the court wrote: It is clear that plaintiff's conduct created reasonable grounds for suspecting that some school rule or law had been violated.... Plaintiff's conduct was clearly ambiguous. It could have indicated that she was truant, or that she was stealing hubcaps, or that she had left class to meet a boyfriend. In short, it could have signified that plaintiff had vio­ lated any of an infinite number of laws or school rules. This Court does not read TLO so broadly as to allow a school administrator the right to search a student because that stu­ dent acts in such a way so as to create a reasonable suspicion that the student has vio­ lated some rule or law.

However, in a related case involving the successful search of a student's automobile for cigarettes, the court concluded that the search was justified at its inception because in addition to the student's being out of class without a pass, there was a history of stu­ dents smoking in the parking lot where the student was found, and the student had lied about going to his car to retrieve an art project.79 Even if the search is justified at its inception, T.L.O. places limits on the scope of the search. For example, it is doubtful that a strip search of T.L.O. would have been justified. In another case, a school official had reasonable grounds to believe a stu­ dent was carrying a knife. He opened the student's purse and, not seeing the knife, proceeded to also open a small zippered pocket inside the purse, which had no bulge in it. He felt inside the pocket, found no knife but felt a plastic bag, which he could feel contained no knife. Nevertheless, he removed the bag, which contained rock co­ caine. The court ruled that the scope of this search exceeded the T.L.O. guidelines: "While school safety may readily justify a basic search for weapons, the student's in­ terest in privacy should preclude a scavenger hunt after the basic search has produced no weapons.... These drugs were discovered during a search extended by simple cu­ riosity rather than suspicion."80 Following T.L.O., courts will insist that the scope of a school search not be exces­ sive in light of the age and sex of the student searched and, most importantly, the nature of the infraction suspected. In one case, the Supreme Court of West Virginia held that a strip search of a student suspected of stealing $100.00 was excessive in light of the na­ ture of the crime being investigated. Even though the money was found in the student's underwear, the court said that the student's "suspected conduct did not pose the type of immediate danger to others that might conceivably necessitate and justify a warran­ tless strip search."81 Similarly, another court concluded that strip searching two eightyear-olds twice to find $7 that was allegedly stolen was unreasonable. "T.L.O." said the court, "forbids school officials from undertaking the most intrusive of searches where the infraction is relatively minor and presents no threat of imminent danger...."82 However, the Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of school officials who strip searched a sixteen-year-old student who was perceived to have an unusual bulge in the crotch and whose name had been associated several times with drug dealing and use.83 As noted earlier, school officials may be personally sued for actual and even puni­ tive damages under federal law, as well as under state tort law, for violations of stu­ dents' Fourth Amendment rights (see sec. 10.9). The danger of losing such a suit is

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particularly high with regard to strip searches because the scope of these searches often cannot be justified under the criteria established in T.L.O. and subsequent lower court decisions and the harm caused by unjustified strip searches can be significant.84 Heightened concern over the dangers posed by student possession of weapons and use of drugs at school has led some to ask whether relatively nonintrusive searches might be undertaken without particularized suspicion. It might be argued, for example, that the minor intrusion of a required examination by a metal detector or of the contents of backpacks is justified by the need to protect the safety of students and teachers. The few courts that have considered the constitutionality of these searches have upheld them, noting the need to achieve a safe school, the nondiscriminatory nature of the searches, and the minimal infringement of the students' privacy.85 Drug Testing

In Vernonia School District 47Jv. Acton,86 the Supreme Court considered the constitu­ tionality of a school's program of random or suspicionless drug testing of student ath­ letes. In upholding the program, the Court noted that random drug testing may be justified in situations where drug use is especially prevalent or dangerous, the purpose of the testing is to assist rather than to punish the students, the testing system is reliable and the results confidential, and in situations such as competitive sports where contin­ ued drug use carries more than the usual dangers. After the Vernonia decision, some school districts initiated programs of suspicionless drug testing of all students engaged in competitive extracurricular activities in­ cluding such activities as choir and debate. The Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of this more expansive policy in Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls.87 After considering the specif­ ics of the district's drug-testing policy, the "nature and immediacy" of the school's concerns about drug use among its students, "and the efficacy of the Policy in meeting" the school's concerns, the Court found that the policy was reasonable and therefore permissible under the Fourth Amendment. That random drug-testing programs were approved in Earls and Vernonia should not be taken to mean that random drug testing of all students would be constitutional. Both these cases involved testing only students who voluntarily participated in extra­ curricular programs involving physical activities and travel that, if undertaken under the influence of drugs, could result in injury to the drug user and others. The drug-testing procedures used in both cases were carried out in a manner designed to minimize embarrassment, and the drug-testing records were confidential. In neither case were the results turned over to law enforcement authorities; nor did a positive test lead to the imposition of school discipline. Both districts were experiencing a "drug problem" when they instituted their policies. It is likely that drug-testing programs that do not meet most or all of these conditions would not pass constitutional muster. Even ran­ dom drug-testing programs that are permissible under the federal Constitution may not be permissible under some state constitutions.88 School officials contemplating the creation of a random drug-testing program should recognize that such programs raise both constitutional and educational issues.

THE ADJUDICATION OF GUILT

89

A major point raised by the four dissenting judges in the Earls case is that unjustified random searches send a message that conflicts with the school's educational mission: In regulating an athletic program or endeavoring to combat an exploding drug epidemic, a school's custodial obligations may permit searches that would otherwise unacceptably abridge students' rights. When custodial duties are not ascendant, however, schools' tute­ lary obligations to their students require them to "teach by example" by avoiding ... mea­ sures that diminish constitutional protections.

School officials should also be aware that the specific design of random drug-testing programs is likely to be subjected to scrutiny especially with regard to issues of stu­ dent privacy. One court ruled that a policy that required students to reveal in advance of being tested for illegal drugs all the prescription drugs they were taking—even if the prescription was one that could not affect the test—was a privacy violation under the state constitution. However, the same court concluded that a policy that gave a student who tested positive the opportunity to submit evidence that lawfully prescribed medi­ cations accounted for the positive results was constitutional.89 4.4

THE ADJUDICATION OF GUILT

In U.S. society, the judgment of people accused of crimes is guided by certain funda­ mental principles. The process begins with a presumption of innocence and the govern­ ment bearing the burden of proving guilt. Whatever the accusation, the defendant has the right to a fair and impartial trial. Extensive procedural safeguards and rules of evi­ dence maximize the likelihood of a just verdict while respecting basic human rights and dignity. Even when a person is found guilty, the Constitution places limits on per­ missible punishments, no matter what the crime. These same principles apply to government-controlled, noncriminal accusatory proceedings like school disciplinary actions. Both the Constitution and state statutes impose procedural and substantive requirements designed to ensure fairness and mini­ mize error. Although they vary somewhat, state statutes generally incorporate and in some cases expand on the constitutional rights discussed later. States are free to grant accused students more procedural safeguards than the Constitution requires, but never fewer. (See also sec. 6.3 regarding federal statutes that regulate the disciplining of stu­ dents with disabilities.) The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment says that the state shall not "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Although the concept of due process has never been fully defined, it embodies a philosophy of justice that requires even-handed deliberation prior to acting. In its procedural sense, due process means the right to be heard. At the minimum, it requires that individuals not be punished or deprived of their rights by the state without first being given a chance to tell their side of the story. Another important due process principle is that the greater the contemplated punishment, the more extensive procedures necessary to guard against an unjust verdict. Historically, public schools had broad authority to discipline students unfettered by due process requirements. In the early 1960s, federal courts began to require some due process for students expelled from public schools.90 By the early 1970s, most, but not

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all, federal courts were applying the Due Process Clause to all cases of exclusion from school, although the terms of the requirements varied considerably from court to court. The law was particularly unsettled with regard to suspensions of short duration. The Goss Case In 1975, the Supreme Court did much to clarify the issue with its decision in Goss v. Lopez.91 Goss concerned a group of students suspended for ten days by an Ohio high school for participating in "disturbances" during a period of "widespread student unrest." Some of the students denied wrongdoing, but none of them was given a hearing prior to suspension, only notified of their punishment. The suspensions were carried out in accordance with an Ohio law authorizing suspension without a hearing, but the students argued that their due process rights had been violated by the school's action. Because the Fourteenth Amendment requires due process only in cases where a state seeks to deprive an individual of life, liberty, or property, the first issue that the Court had to face was whether attendance at school is a property right. The state ar­ gued that it wasn't because there is no right to attend school granted by the U.S. Con­ stitution. The Supreme Court rejected this argument, noting that whereas Ohio had no obligation to provide schooling to its children, it had chosen to do so. In so doing, it had created a property right to school attendance; the students then possessed the right to be in school just as they possess tangible property or anything else to which they have legal entitlement. (Note, that in making this ruling, the Supreme Court was not saying that school attendance is a constitutional right. In fact, the Court specifi­ cally ruled in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez92 that there is no constitutional right to education.) Not only do students possess a property right to school attendance, but they also possess a liberty interest in the maintenance of a good reputation, one that is implicated in cases where school suspensions are noted on a student's permanent record. Having established the relevance of the Due Process Clause to punitive exclusion of students from school, the Court next faced the task of developing a framework that would work in the school context. Noting as always the urgent need of the school for the maintenance of discipline, the Court recognized that schools could not and should not be expected to conduct themselves like courts. They must be able to act quickly and to get on with the business of education. However, even a short-term exclusion from school is a "serious event in the life of the suspended child," one that should not be al­ lowed to take place without at least some procedural safeguards. Therefore, the Court ruled that short-term suspensions, like the ones in Goss, could take place only after stu­ dents were afforded some kind of hearing. Thus, the suspensions without a hearing and the Ohio law that permitted them were unconstitutional. Goss resolved the major questions concerning the application of the Due Process Clause in public schools. Any nontrivial deprivation of a student's liberty or property interests requires due process. Liberty interests include freedom from restraint and, as in Goss, the maintenance of one's reputation. Property interests can arise by ownership or by state action as when statutes grant the right to attend public school. Because the

THE ADJUDICATION OF GUILT

91

loss of even one day of schooling is a nontrivial deprivation of property, suspensions of any length require due process. Once it has been determined that due process applies in a particular case, it becomes necessary to determine what process is due. Goss indicates that, except under emer­ gency circumstances, a hearing should precede a child's exclusion from school. For short-term suspensions, defined by the court as ten days or less, Goss requires notice of the charges and case against the student followed by an opportunity to refute them. Lit­ tle time need elapse between the student's notification of the alleged violation and the hearing. For example, an accusing teacher might notify a student of alleged miscon­ duct and immediately accompany the student to the school office where the principal listens to teacher and student, makes a judgment, and, if necessary, assigns a suspen­ sion of ten days or less. There are not any specific procedural requirements about where or how the hearing is to be conducted. One court ruled that the hearing require­ ment was satisfied when a principal spoke to a disruptive student and then to her parent on the telephone after the student had been removed from school.93 Thus, Goss at­ tempts to accommodate both the student's right to fair treatment and the school's need to act quickly without undue expenditure of resources. Post-Goss Issues

Although Goss provides the framework for applying the Due Process Clause to school disciplinary cases, as always the lower courts have needed to resolve a variety of spe­ cific issues. These issues fall into four groups: besides short-term suspension, what punishments require due process or can be given without a hearing; are suspensions without a hearing ever permissible; under what circumstances may a hearing be held after exclusion from school rather than before; and when punishment goes beyond short-term suspension, what additional procedures are required? Most courts do not require hearings for punishments that do not involve exclusion from school. Other punishments are either not considered deprivations of liberty or property or are considered trivial. For example, in Dickens v. Johnson County Board of Education,94 temporary placement in a "time out" area was considered too incon­ sequential to trigger due process. Although students have a statute-given property right to a public education, they have no property right to any of its components. Thus, courts have said that denying a student a place on an extracurricular sports team, a role in a play, a place in the band, or admission to the academic honor society or an advanced placement course does not require a hearing.95 Other courts have de­ nied the due process claims of students whose grades were reduced for academic (as opposed to disciplinary) reasons96 or who were prohibited from attending graduation ceremonies.97 The Supreme Court itself has ruled that no hearing is required prior to corporal punishment. 98 On the other hand, courts may require due process for punishments that entail a sig­ nificant decrease in the opportunity to learn or diminish a student's future prospects even if no actual suspension is involved. This is particularly likely when, for disciplin­ ary reasons, students are deprived of significant benefits to which they are otherwise entitled. In Cole v. Newton Special Municipal Separate School District 99 the court

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ruled that a hearing was required for an in-school suspension because the student was deprived of instruction. In Warren v. National Ass 'n of Secondary School Princi­ pals^ the court mandated a hearing for a student expelled from the National Honor Society. In State ex rel. Yarber v. McHenry, the court ruled that grade reduction for dis­ ciplinary reasons, such as failure to comply with the school's attendance policy, re­ quires due process.101 The only situation in which the courts seem willing to allow suspension without a hearing is when the student freely admits guilt. Confession can be seen either as a waiver of the right to a hearing or as demonstrating that there is no practical need for one.102 The Court in Goss suggested that there were occasions when a student could be sus­ pended with notice and hearing to follow "as soon as practicable": Students "whose presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of dis­ ruption to the academic process may be immediately removed from the school." Al­ though not much litigation has addressed this point, the exception appears to apply best to violent or destructive students unwilling or unable to control themselves long enough to participate in a brief hearing. In White v. Salisbury Township School District,103 the court agreed with the school district that a police accusation of smoking marijuana on school grounds justified a suspension prior to a hearing. The decision is hard to understand, because after they learned of the infraction from the police, school officials told the student he could remain in school for the rest of the day but was not to report to classes the next day, with the hearing to follow. The wording of the Goss opinion indicates that school disciplinary procedures must conform to the general due process doctrine that more severe punishments require more elaborate procedures. Lower courts have unanimously interpreted Goss' focus on suspensions of ten days or less as signaling that more extensive due process is re­ quired prior to long-term suspension or expulsion.104 It is important to remember that due process requirements are not directly related to the seriousness of the student's misconduct; rather the requirements are determined by the nature and weight of the contemplated punishment. Any punishment that is by na­ ture a deprivation of liberty or property creates a need for some procedural due pro­ cess. The greater the weight of the contemplated deprivation, the more due process is required. Thus, using a series of short-term suspensions for the same offense is not a permissible way to avoid the more extensive due process of long-term suspension. However, courts generally judge the weight of a suspension by its length, not by the severity of its impact. For example, in Lamb v. Panhandle Community United School District No. 2,105 a student was suspended for the last three days of the school year. As a result, he missed final examinations, failed three courses, and could not graduate. The student claimed that he should have been afforded extensive due process because of the great effect the punishment had on his life. The court disagreed and ruled that a sus­ pension of three days was short-term regardless of when it occurred.106 Long-Term Suspension

Courts are in agreement that exclusion from school for more than ten days requires for­ mal notice of specific charges. The notice should specify the time and place of the hear­

THE ASSIGNMENT OF PUNISHMENT

93

ing far enough in advance to permit preparation of a defense.107 The hearing itself should be before an impartial tribunal, which may be and often is the board of educa­ tion itself.108 The accused student should have the opportunity to present evidence and refute adverse evidence.109 A finding of guilt must be based on substantial evidence with the district bearing the burden of proof. Less demanding than the "beyond a rea­ sonable doubt" standard used in criminal proceedings, substantial evidence requires a showing that guilt is more likely than innocence or, as one court put it, "such relevant proof as adequate to support a conclusion of ultimate fact."110 To suspend a student based on an unreliable drug test would violate this requirement.111 The following issues of due process for long-term suspension must be viewed as un­ settled because courts have taken conflicting positions: • The provision of a list of witnesses prior to the hearing. The majority of the courts have held that this is not required.112 • The right to confront and question adverse witnesses. A number of courts permit testimony in the form of anonymous affidavits but others do not.113 • The admissibility of hearsay with most courts permitting it.114 • Whether impartiality is compromised when the school board's own attorney presents the case against the student. The courts are about evenly split on this question.115 • The right to be represented by an attorney. Once again, the courts are split.116 • The right to a recording or transcript of the hearing. Most courts do not recognize this right. 117 • The right to a written statement of the reasons explaining the decision to suspend, also not required by most courts.118 Given the uncertainties in the law, the prudent course is to provide extensive due process in cases where long-term exclusion from school is contemplated. Schools should endeavor to fairly apply preestablished standardized disciplinary procedures to avoid the appearance of prejudice, minimize the potential for litigation, and, most im­ portant, prevent unjust punishments. This means, for example, not allowing the indi­ vidual presenting the case against the student to attend the tribunal's private deliberations because this practice allows new evidence to be introduced without refu­ tation and gives the impression that the tribunal is giving serious attention to only one side of the case. Similarly, extensive use of hearsay should be avoided for the same rea­ son it is excluded from criminal courts: Second-hand testimony tends to be unreliable and difficult to refute. If the school's case is presented by an attorney, the student should be permitted to have one as well. In short, as a matter of sound education policy, sound administrative practice, and simple fairness, schools should endeavor to employ evenhanded disciplinary procedures designed to ascertain the truth. 4.5

THE ASSIGNMENT OF PUNISHMENT

The assignment of punishment is the last phase of student discipline, and, as a practical matter, the one that matters most. Severe punishments have the potential to adversely affect students' life prospects, whereas lenient punishments may fail to instruct stu­

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dents as to the severity of their infractions and leave others vulnerable to the students' continued wrongdoing. In a sense, the assignment of punishment also has the greatest potential to bring litigation of any aspect of student discipline. Students may bring law­ suits objecting to the wording of school rules, they may claim that evidence of their wrongdoing was gathered unlawfully or that due process protections were not scrupu­ lously observed, but whatever the official cause of action, often their real complaint is that they are being punished. In recent years, lawsuits directly challenging the school's authority to impose a particular punishment in response to a particular offense or to im­ pose a particular punishment at all have become more common. With so much at stake, morally, educationally, and legally, attention to fairness, to the needs of offending stu­ dents and others in the school community, and to the legal limits on the school's author­ ity to punish is crucial. Federal and state constitutions and statutes as well as the common law all bear on the authority of schools to punish their students. The Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable ... seizures" has been used to challenge punishments that iso­ late or confine a student such as placement in a so-called "time-out" room. Generally, these suits will not succeed provided the punishment is "reasonably related to [its] ob­ jectives ... and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction." Suits challenging punishments that violate this principle may be successful. In one case, a federal district court refused to dismiss a suit involv­ ing the use of a time-out room where: the room could be used at the absolute discretion of the teacher, the locking of the room violated the fire code, the use of a time-out room had not been written into the individual educational plan for this student with a disabil­ ity (see sec. 6.3), the use of the time-out room was without parental consent, and al­ though teachers could look into the room through a peep hole, the student could not look out.119 After being paddled twenty times with a wooden paddle two feet in length, three to four inches wide and one-half inch thick, James Ingraham brought suit arguing that his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment had been vio­ lated. The Supreme Court rejected this claim in Ingraham v. Wright,120 finding that the Eighth Amendment was only applicable to criminal proceedings. In any event, said the Court: Public school teachers and administrators are privileged at common law to inflict only such corporal punishment as is reasonably necessary for the proper education of the child; any punishment going beyond the privilege may result in both civil and criminal li­ ability. As long as the schools are open to the public scrutiny, there is no reason to believe that the common-law constraints will not effectively remedy and deter excesses such as those alleged in this case.

The Court also concluded that the Due Process Clause did not require notice and a hearing prior to the imposition of corporal punishment. Although the Eighth Amend­ ment does not apply to corporal punishment in the context of public schools, the Four­ teenth Amendment does. Thus, students who are physically punished by school officials may seek redress by claiming that their right to bodily integrity as protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been violated. This is a different sense of due process from the procedural requirements discussed earlier in

THE ASSIGNMENT OF PUNISHMENT

95

the chapter. As the Fifth Circuit explained, "Corporal punishment is a deprivation of substantive due process when it is arbitrary, capricious, or wholly unrelated to the le­ gitimate state goal of maintaining an atmosphere conducive to learning."121 Whether or not school officials may be held constitutionally liable for excessive force depends, ac­ cording to the Fourth Circuit, on the severity of the injury caused by the punishment, the proportionality of the punishment to the need for it, and whether the punishment was motivated by malice or sadism and was shocking to the conscience.122 Most other circuit courts have adopted similar tests for addressing claims that a specific instance of corporal punishment violates substantive due process.123 When the Ingraham case was decided, only two states banned corporal punishment; today, at least twenty states do either by statute or regulation.124 Many school boards in states that permit corporal punishment have banned the practice or severely limited its use. As the earlier quote from Ingraham suggests, state laws and local policies permit­ ting corporal punishment do not immunize educators from legal problems connected with its use. Educators who employ corporal punishment improperly or violate school board procedures may face dismissal.125 They may also face civil or even criminal lia­ bility for excessive physical punishment resulting in harm. In deciding whether a par­ ticular instance of corporal punishment is improper, a court will consider the age and physical condition of the student; the seriousness of the misconduct; the specific de­ tails and severity of the punishment including part of the body hit, number of blows, implement and force employed, and the injury resulting; the past behavior of the stu­ dent; the frame of mind of the disciplinarian including whether there was anger or mal­ ice; the availability of less severe but equally effective means of discipline; and whether the school's own regulations concerning corporal punishment were followed.126 (See also the discussion of assault and battery in sec. 10.1.) Schools using corporal punishment should, therefore, at the very least, adopt and abide by a rigid set of self-restrictions designed to ensure that punishment is neither excessive nor other­ wise unlawful. One sound practice would be to require the presence of a second educa­ tor as a witness whenever a student is hit. The Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment have also been used to challenge school punishments other than corporal punish­ ment. One student claimed that expulsion violated his implicit right to an education under the U.S. Constitution. A federal district court disagreed and ruled that there is no such right and, therefore, that expulsion is proper if rationally related to a legiti­ mate governmental purpose. 127 Likewise, students arguing that exclusion from school without provision of an alternative educational program violates their state constitutional right to an education generally have not met with success. Students do have a right to a state-funded education, say the courts, but the right can be forfeited by violating school rules.128 However, the West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of long-term suspensions only after noting that the suspended stu­ dents would still have "reasonable state-funded basic educational opportunities and services available."129 In general, whether an excluded student must be given an alternative program is a statutory rather than a constitutional issue. Similarly, the maximum length of permis­ sible suspension, whether permanent expulsion is allowed, and what offenses may re­ sult in suspension or expulsion are also determined by state statute.130 For example,

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Kansas statutes authorize "any certified employee" to "suspend or expel" a student for violation of any rule "published" by the school or "approved" by the board, "conduct which disrupts, impedes or interferes with the ... school," "conduct which substan­ tially impinges upon or invades the rights of others," conduct that has resulted in a con­ viction for any state or federal crime, or disobeying an order of a teacher or other school authority. Although this list seems to give the school very wide discretion to ex­ clude students, the law goes on to state that, "an expulsion may be for a term not ex­ ceeding 186 school days," so permanent exclusion is not allowed.131 Sometimes, statutes may require that a particular punishment be applied to a partic­ ular offense. The Gun Free Schools Act of 1994132 requires that states receiving federal education funds (that is, all states) shall have in effect a State law requiring local educational agencies to expel from school for period of not less than one year a student who is determined to have brought a weapon to a school under the jurisdiction of local educational agencies in that State, except that such State law shall allow the chief administering officer of such local ed­ ucational agency to modify such expulsion requirement for a student on a case-bycase basis.

The Act goes on to say that states may, if they wish, permit school districts to pro­ vide alternative "educational services" to excluded students. Many states have modi­ fied their own statutes to comply with this federal mandate.133 Some state laws also mandate exclusion from school under other specified circumstances. In Massachu­ setts, for example, principals are required to suspend pupils they deem a threat to other students and staff.134 "Zero-tolerance" policies (i.e., rules requiring that students be expelled for posses­ sion of drugs or weapons), may be vulnerable to constitutional challenges when ap­ plied in an arbitrary manner.135 For example, suppose a student was expelled for having a knife in his backpack that another student put there without his knowledge. The stu­ dent might argue that the expulsion violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to sub­ stantive due process in that he was deprived of his liberty and property interest in school attendance for reasons that were entirely unconnected to any legitimate educa­ tional goal of the school. Whether most courts would accept such arguments remains to be determined. Two students who were disciplined by being locked for a day in a small, dirty janitor's closet without lunch or bathroom breaks successfully brought a substantive due process case against the school.136 Other due process cases have challenged the assign­ ment of academic penalties such as grade reduction for nonacademic misconduct. These cases have had mixed outcomes, with some upholding grade reductions for stu­ dents under disciplinary suspensions137 and others rejecting the practice.138 Students have also challenged grade reductions and other academic penalties for nonacademic misbehavior on statutory grounds. The Supreme Court of Connecticut concluded that a school does have the authority both to reduce grades for unapproved absences and to withhold credit from a student who missed twenty-four classes.139 Likewise, a New York court upheld a district's authority to withhold course credit from a student who missed more than ninety percent of all classes.140 In general, grade reductions for tru­ ancy have survived both constitutional and statutory challenges.141 However, other

SUMMARY

97

courts have ruled that school districts lack authority to reduce grades for classes missed for illness or while suspended from school for disciplinary reasons.142 Equal protection cases may be brought against schools whose disciplinary policies discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, or national origin, such as by pun­ ishing students of one race more severely than another for the same offense.143 Federal statutes also prohibit racial or gender discrimination in education including the assign­ ment of punishment (see sec. 5.5) and place significant limitations on the punishment of students with disabilities (see sec. 6.3). Students singled out for more severe punish­ ment than other wrongdoers for reasons other than race, religion, gender, or national origin can also bring equal protection cases, but the school will prevail as long as it has a rational basis for the differential treatment.144 For example, applying a more severe punishment to a ringleader or to a repeat offender will probably be upheld.145 A final constitutional issue of potentially great significance to students who commit criminal acts at school is the question of whether being punished in a school proceed­ ing and later by a court of law constitutes double jeopardy. The Fifth Amendment states: "[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeop­ ardy of life or limb." After all, students have argued, both schools and courts are agen­ cies of the state. However, courts have rejected the argument that being punished at school precludes being punished again in court for the same offense and vice versa.146 Thus, students have tried to rely on a wide variety of federal constitutional princi­ ples to challenge school punishments, mostly without success. As long as punish­ ments are reasonable in light of the student's infraction and the purpose for which they are given, as long as punishments are not so severe as to shock the conscience, and as long as punishments are not applied in a discriminatory manner, the Federal Constitution will not interfere with the judgment of educators concerning the appro­ priateness of punishment. At the same time, the constitutions and statutes of many states and the policies of some school boards place important limitations on the au­ thority of school officials to assign punishment. School officials who ignore these limitations place themselves and their schools at risk of litigation and place their jobs in jeopardy. 4.6

SUMMARY

Schools are permitted by statute and common law to regulate the conduct of their stu­ dents. In matters of rule making, investigation of misconduct, determination of guilt, and assignment of punishment, schools generally have broad latitude. However, both state statutes and the Constitution constrain the performance of all these functions. The overriding constraint is that a school may only limit the behavior of its students in ways that are reasonably related to the promotion of legitimate educational goals. Schools are free to create and enforce almost any rule that meets this general con­ straint. However, rules with no significant educational purpose and most regulation of off-campus behavior are beyond the statutory authority of the school board. Although it is not necessary to base all disciplinary action on specific preexisting rules, courts may object on due process grounds to enforcement of standards announced only after the fact. This is particularly likely when a school seeks to punish behaviors that com­ mon sense does not indicate are impermissible. The most common constitutional ob­

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jection to a school rule is that it is vague. Although school rules may be more general than criminal statutes, most courts nevertheless insist that they be specific enough to permit the average student to distinguish between allowable and prohibited conduct. When investigating possible student misconduct, school officials may employ any surveillance technique that does not intrude on a reasonably held expectation of pri­ vacy. Most courts permit searches of a student's locker without permission because the locker is controlled jointly by the student and school. Officials may question students without allowing them an attorney or alerting them to their privilege against self-incrimination. However, in order to search a student's pocket, purse, or other personal belongings, a school official must have reasonable grounds to believe that the search will produce evidence of a violation of a specific school rule or law. The suspicion must be directed at the specific student to be searched. Even so, the scope of the search must be reasonable considering the rule violated, the evidence sought, and the intru­ siveness of the investigation. Certain random searches, such as required drug screen­ ing for athletes or metal detectors for everyone entering a school, may be permissible, especially if the purpose is to protect and educate rather than to punish. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that students be given an opportunity for a hearing prior to exclusion from school for disciplinary rea­ sons. In Goss v. Lopez, the Supreme Court ruled that minimum due process for shortterm suspensions of up to ten days consists of notification of the charges and an oppor­ tunity to refute them. An informal hearing may take place right after the infraction, and punishment may then be assigned. Suspensions lasting more than ten days require more elaborate due process. The accused student must be given advance notice of the charges and time and place of the hearing. Some, but not all, jurisdictions enforce other procedural protections and rules of evidence, such as the right to counsel, to cross-examine adverse witnesses, and to exclude hearsay testimony. The overriding require­ ment is that the tribunal be fair and impartial, with the student having adequate opportunity to present evidence and refute the opposing case. However, no hearing is required for corporal punishment or most mild classroom and school penalties. Most constitutional challenges to schools' authority to punish their students for wrongdoing have not succeeded. However, state statutes generally set the limits of al­ lowable punishment such as the maximum length of exclusion from school. Except where prohibited by statute or board policy, school officials may employ corporal pun­ ishment, although excessive or improper use of force or corporal punishment may lead to firing and civil or criminal penalties. School officials may also use reasonable force to keep order, to prevent harm to others or damage to property, or to defend them­ selves. Besides corporal punishment, the most controversial school penalty is grade re­ duction, but most courts have upheld academic penalties for truancy or work missed while under disciplinary suspension. NOTES 1. Philip Leon M. v. Greenbrier County Bd. of Educ., 484 S.E.2d 909 (W. Va. 1996). 2. 20U.S.C. § 7912(a). 3. Richards v. Thurston, 424 F.2d 1281 (1st Cir. 1970); Shanely v. Northeast Indep. Sch. Dist., Bexar County, 462 F.2d 960 (5th Cir. 1972). 4. Dillon v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 468 F. Supp. 54 (E.D. Ark. 1978).

NOTES

99

5. Nitzberg v. Parks, 525 F.2d 378 (4th Cir. 1975); Leibner v. Sharbaugh, 429 F. Supp. 744 (E.D. Va. 1977). 6. In re Suspension of Huffer, 546 N.E.2d 1308 (Ohio 1989). 7. 505 P.2d 939 (Or. Ct. App. 1973). 8. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 8 v. Swanson, 553 P.2d 496 (Okla. 1976). 9. Jackson v. Dorrier, 424 F.2d 213 (6th Cir. 1970); but see Bishop v. Colaw, 450 F.2d 1069 (8th Cir. 1971). 10. Hatch v. Goerke, 502 F.2d 1189 (10th Cir. 1974); New Rider v. Bd. of Educ., 480 F.2d 699 (10th Cir. 1973); Moody v. Cronin, 484 F. Supp. 270 (C.D. III. 1979). 11. Ala. & Coushatta Tribes v. Big Sandy Indep. Sch. Dist., 817 F. Supp. 1319 (E.D. Tex. 1993), remanded, 20F.3d 469(5thCir. 1994). 12. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965). 13. E.g., Massie v. Henry, 455 F.2d. 779 (4th Cir. 1972). 14. E.g., King v. Saddleback Junior Coll. Dist., 445 F.2d 932 (9th Cir. 1971). 15. Barberv. Colo. Indep. Sch. Dist., 901 S.W.2d 447 (Tex. 1995). 16. 251 S.E.2d 889 (N.C. Ct. App. 1979), and 448 F. Supp. 497 (W.D.N.C. 1978). 17. Johnson v. Joint Sch. Dist. No. 60, 508 P.2d 547 (Idaho 1973). 18. 346 F. Supp. 156 (E.D. Ark. 1972). 19. Bannister v. Paradis, 316 F. Supp. 185 (D.N.H. 1970). 20. 418 S.W.2d 535 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967). 21. Bd. of Dir. of the Indep. Sch. Dist. of Waterloo v. Green, 147 N.W.2d 854 (Iowa 1967). 22. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965). 23. See Seal v. Morgan, 229 F.3d 567 (6th Cir. 2000); J.M. v. Webster County Bd. of Educ., 534 S.E.2d 50 (W. Va. 2000). 24. Bd. of Educ. of Millbrook Cent. Sch. Dist. v. Ambach, 465 N.Y.S.2d 77 (N.Y. App. Div. 1983). 25. Connally v. Gen. Constr., 269 U.S. 385 (1926). 26. Stephenson v. Davenport Cmty. Sch. Dist., 110 F.3d 1303 (8th Cir. 1997). 27. Claiborne v. Beebe Sch. Dist., 687 F. Supp. 1358 (E.D. Ark. 1988). 28. Soglin v. Kauffman, 295 F. Supp. 978 (W.D. Wis. 1968), aff'd, 418 F.2d 163 (7th Cir. 1969). 29. Galveston Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Boothe, 590 S.W.2d 553 (Tex. Ct. App. 1979). 30. Crossen v. Fatsi, 309 F. Supp. 114 (D. Conn. 1970). 31. 409 F. Supp. 379 (W.D. Pa. 1976). 32. Bd. of Airport Comm'rs of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, Inc., 482 U.S. 569 (1987); Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601 (1973). 33. Wallace v. Batavia Sch. Dist. 101, 68 F.3d 1010 (7th Cir. 1995). 34. P.B. v. Koch, 96 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1996). 35. Sansone v. Bechtel, 429 A.2d 820 (Conn. 1980). 36. In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967). 37. 384 U.S. 436(1966). 38. Boynton v. Casey, 543 F. Supp. 995 (D. Me. 1982). 39. Edwards v. Rees, 883 F.2d 882 (10th 1989). 40. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967) (Harlan, J. concurring). 41. State v. D.T.W., 425 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1983); Speake v. Grantham, 317 F. Supp. 1253 (S.D. Miss. 1970), aff'd, 440 F.2d 1351 (5th Cir. 1971). 42. State v. Johnson, 530 P.2d 910 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1975). 43. Stern v. New Haven Cmty. Sch., 529 F. Supp. 31 (E.D. Mich. 1981). 44. People v. Overton, 229 N.E.2d 596 (N.Y. 1967), and 249 N.E.2d 366 (N.Y. 1969). 45. Massachusetts v. Snyder, 597 N.E.2d 1363 (Mass. 1992). 46. Pennsylvania v. Cass, 709 A.2d 350 (Pa. 1998). 47. See Massachusetts v. Carey, 554 N.E.2d 1199 (Mass. 1990); Isaiah B. v. Wisconsin, 500 N.W.2d 637 (Wis. 1993). 48. In re S.C. v. State, 583 So. 2d 188 (Miss. 1991). 49. In re Adam, 697 N.E.2d 1100 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997). 50. Zamora v. Pomery, 639 F.2d 662 (10th Cir. 1981); People v. Overton, 249 N.E.2d 366 (N.Y. 1969). 51. United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696 (1983). 52. 690 F.2d 470 (5th Cir. 1982). 53. Anable v. Ford, 653 F. Supp. 22 (W.D. Ark. 1985). 54. 742 F.2d 977 (6th Cir. 1984). 55. 469 U.S. 325(1985).

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56. DesRoches v. Caprio, 974 F. Supp. 542 (E.D. Va. 1997), rev'd, 156 F.3d 571 (4th Cir. 1998). 57. 828 F.2d 1151 (6th Cir. 1987). 58. 694 P.2d 1078 (Wash. 1985). 59. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961). 60. People v. Scott D., 315 N.E.2d 466 (N.Y. 1974); but see State v. Young, 216 S.E.2d 586 (Ga. 1975). 61. Thompson v. Carthage Sch. Dist., 87 F.3d 979 (8th Cir. 1996); James v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 512, 899 F. Supp. 530 (D. Kan. 1995); Jones v. Latexo Indep. Sch. Dist., 499 F. Supp. 223 (E.D. Tex. 1980); Mo­ rale v. Grigel, 422 F. Supp. 988 (D.N.H. 1976). 62. Matter of Juan C. v. Cortines, 679 N.E.2d 1061 (N.Y. 1997). 63.42U.S.C. § 1983. 64. Williams v. Ellington, 936 F.2d 881 (6th Cir. 1991); Bellnier v. Lund, 43 8 F. Supp. 47 (N.D.N. Y. 1977). 65. Jenkins v. Talladaga City Bd. of Educ., 115 F.3d 821 (llth Cir. 1997) (en banc). 66. 469 U.S. 325(1985). 67. 810 F.2d 188 (8th Cir. 1987); see also Martens v. Dist. No. 220, 620 F. Supp. 29 (N.D. 111. 1985). 68. 733 P.2d 316 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1987). 69. In re Bobby B., 218 Cal. Rptr. 253 (Cal. Ct. App. 1985). 70. Rhodes v. Guarricino, 54 F. Supp. 2d 186 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). 71. New Mexico v. Michael G., 748 P.2d 17 (N.M. Ct. App. 1987). 72. In the Interest of S.C. V.Mississippi, 583 So. 2d 188 (Miss. 1991). 73. Fewless ex rel. Fewless v. Bd. of Educ. of Wayland, 208 F. Supp. 2d 806 (W.D. Mich. 2002). 74. Burnham v. West, 681 F. Supp. 1160 (E.D. Va. 1987); Bellnier v. Lund, 438 F. Supp. 47 (N.D.N.Y. 1977); Kuehn v. Renton Sch. Dist. No. 403,694 P.2d 1078 (Wash. 1985); Hortonv. Goose Creek Indep. Sch. Dist., 690 F.2d 470 (5th Cir. 1982); but see Des Rochesv. Caprio, 156F.3d571 (4thCir. 1998). 75. Thompson v. Carthage Sch. Dist., 87 F.3d 979 (8th Cir. 1996); In re Alexander B., 270 Cal. Rptr. 342 (Cal. Ct. App. 1990). 76. Cornfield v. Consol. High Sch. Dist. No. 230, 991 F.2d 1316 (7th Cir. 1993); Kennedy v. Dexter Consol. Sch., 955 P.2d 693 (N.M. Ct. App. 1998). 77. Williams v. Ellington, 936 F.2d 881 (6th Cir. 1991). 78. 635 F. Supp. 454 (E.D. Mich. 1985). 79. Anders ex rel. Anders v. Fort Wayne Cmty. Schs., 124 F. Supp. 2d 618 (N.D. Ind. 2000). 80. T.J. v. State, 538 So. 2d 1320 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989). 81. West Virginia ex rel. Galford v. Mark Anthony B., 433 S.E.2d 41 (W.Va. 1993). 82. Jenkins v. Talladega City Bd. of Educ., 95 F.3d 1036 (11th Cir. 1996). 83. Cornfield v. Consol. High Sch. Dist. No. 230, 991 F.2d 1316 (7th Cir. 1993). 84. Bell v. Marseilles Elementary Sch., 160 F. Supp. 2d 883 (N.D. 111. 2001); Kennedy v. Dexter Consol. Schs., 10 P.3d 115 (N.M. 2000). Compare Thomas ex rel. Thomas v. Roberts, 261 F.3d 1160 (11th Cir. 2001), cert, granted, vacated by, 536 U.S. 953 (2002), on remand, 232 F.3d 950 (2003), reh 'g & reh 'g en banc denied, 2003 WL 21788455 (Ga. June 18, 2003). 85. In Interest of S.S., 680 A.2d 1172 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1996); In Interest of F.B., 658 A.2d 1378 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995); New York v. Dukes, 580 N.Y.S.2d 850 (N.Y. Crim. Ct. 1992); Illinois v. Pruitt, 662 N.E.2d 540 (I11. App. Ct. 1996). 86. 515 U.S. 646 (1995). 87. 536 U.S. 822(2002). 88. Compare Theodore v. Del. Valley Sch. Dist., 761 A.2d 652 (Pa. Commw. 2000) (striking down random drug testing), and Linke v. Northwestern Sch. Corp., 763 N.E.2d 972 (Ind. 2002) (upholding random drug testing). 89. Weber v. Oakridge Sch. Dist. 76, 56 P.3d 504 (Or. Ct. App. 2002). 90. Dixon v. Ala. State Bd. of Educ., 294 F.2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961). 91. 419 U.S. 565(1975). 92. 411 U.S. 1 (1973). 93. C.B. v. Driscoll, 82 F.3d 383 (11th Cir. 1996). 94. 661 F. Supp. 155 (E.D. Tenn. 1987). 95. Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir. 1996); Mazevksi v. Horseheads Cent. Sch. Dist., 950 F. Supp. 69 (W.D.N.Y. 1997); Hebert v. Ventetuolo, 638 F.2d 5 (1st Cir. 1981); Bernstein v. Menard, 557 F. Supp. 90 (E.D. Va. 1982), appeal dismissed, 728 F.2d 252 (4th Cir. 1984); but see Duffley v. N.H. Interscholastic Athletic Ass'n, 446 A.2d 462 (N.H. 1982). 96. Campbell v. Bd. of Educ. of New Milford, 475 A.2d 289 (Conn. 1984).

NOTES

101

97. Swany v. San Ramon Valley Unified Sch. Dist., 720 F. Supp. 764 (N.D. Cal. 1989); Fowler v. William­ son, 448 F. Supp. 497 (W.D.N.C. 1978); Dolinger v. Driver, 498 S.E.2d 252 (Ga. 1998). 98. Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977). 99. 676 F. Supp. 749 (S.D. Miss. 1987), aff'd, 853 F.2d 924 (5th Cir. 1988). 100. 375 F. Supp. 1043 (N.D. Tex. 1974). 101.915 S.W.2d 325(Mo. 1995) (en banc). 102. Keough v. Tate County Bd. of Educ., 748 F.2d 1077 (5th Cir. 1984); Coffman v. Kuehler, 409 F. Supp. 546 (N.D. Tex. 1976). 103. 588 F. Supp. 608 (E.D. Pa. 1984). 104. See, e.g., Gonzales v. McEuen, 435 F. Supp. 460 (C.D. Cal. 1977). 105. 826 F.2d 526 (7th Cir. 1987). 106. See also Keough v. Tate County Bd. of Educ., 748 F.2d 1077 (5th Cir. 1984). 107. Strickland v. Inlow, 519 F.2d 744 (8th Cir. 1975); but see Walker v. Bradley, 320 N.W.2d 900 (Neb. 1982). 108. Sullivan v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 475 F.2d 1071 (5th Cir. 1973). 109. Dixon v. Ala. State Bd. of Educ., 294 F.2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961). 110. Mandell v. Bd. of Educ., 662 N.Y.S.2d 598 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997); Washington v. Smith, 618 N.E.2d 561 (111. App. Ct. 1993). 111. Anable v. Ford, 653 F. Supp. 22 (W.D. Ark.), modified, 663 F. Supp. 149 (W.D. Ark. 1985). 112. Keough v. Tate County Bd. of Educ., 748 F.2d 1077 (5th Cir. 1984). 113. Newsome v. Batavia Local Sch. Dist., 842 F.2d 920 (6th Cir. 1988); Brewer v. Austin Indep. Sch. Dist., 779 F.2d 260 (5th Cir. 1985). 114. Tasby v. Estes, 643 F.2d 1103 (5th Cir. Unit A Apr. 1981). 115. Gonzales v. McEuen, 435 F. Supp. 460 (C.D. Cal. 1977); Alex v. Allen, 409 F. Supp. 379 (W.D. Pa. 1976). 116. Givens v. Poe, 346 F. Supp. 202 (W.D.N.C. 1972); Gonzales v. McEuen, 435 F. Supp. 460 (C.D. Cal. 1977). 117. Jaksa v. Regents of Univ. of Mich., 597 F. Supp. 1245 (E.D. Mich. 1984) aff'd, 787 F.2d 590 (6th Cir. 1988). 118. Jaksa v. Regents of Univ. of Mich., 597 F. Supp. 1245 (E.D. Mich. 1984) aff'd, 787 F.2d 590 (6th Cir. 1986). 119. Rasmus v. Arizona, 939 F. Supp. 709 (D. Ariz. 1996). 120. 430 U.S. 651 (1977). 121. Woodard v. Los Fresnos Indep. Sch. Dist, 732 F.2d 1243 (5th Cir. 1984). 122. Hall v. Tawney, 621 F.2d 607 (4th Cir. 1980). 123. Johnson v. Newburgh Enlarged Sch. Dist., 239 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2001); Neal ex rel. Neal v. Fulton County Bd. of Educ., 229 F.3d 1069 (11th Cir. 2000), reh 'g & reh 'gen banc denied, 244 F.3d 143 (11th Cir. 2000); London v. Dirs. of DeWitt Pub. Schs., 194 F.3d 873 (8th Cir. 1999); Saylor v. Bd. of Educ. of Harlan County, 118 F.3d 507 (6th Cir. 1997); P.B v. Koch, 96 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1996); Metzger v. Osbek, 841 F.2d 518 (3d Cir. 1988); Wise v. Pea Ridge Sch. Dist., 855 F.2d 560 (8th Cir. 1988); com­ pare Moore v. Willis Indep. Sch. Dist., 233 F.3d 871 (5th Cir. 2000); Fee v. Herndon, 900 F.2d 804 (5th Cir. 1990). 124. CAL. EDUC. CODE § 49001; N.Y. COMP. CODES R. & REGS. tit. 8, § 19.5. 125. Bott v. Bd. of Educ., Deposit Cent. Sch. Dist., 360 N.E.2d 952 (N.Y. 1977). 126. P.B. v. Koch, 96 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1996); Thompson v. Iberville Parish Sch. Bd., 372 So. 2d 642 (La. Ct. App. 1979); B.L. v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Serv., 545 So. 2d 289 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989); People v. Wehmeyer, 509 N.E.2d 605 (I11. App. Ct. 1987); Rolando v. School Dir. of Dist. No. 125, County of LaSalle, 358 N.E.2d 945 (I11. App. Ct. 1976); Calway v. Williamson, 36 A.2d 377 (Conn. 1944). 127. Craig v. Selma City Sch. Bd., 801 F. Supp. 585 (S.D. Ala. 1992). 128. Doe v. Superintendent of Sch. of Worcester, 653 N.E.2d 1088 (Mass. 1995); Kolesnickv. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 558 N.W.2d 807 (Neb. 1997); D. B. v. Clarke County Bd. of Educ., 469 S.E.2d 438 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). 129. Cathe v. Doddridge County Bd. of Educ., 490 S.E.2d 340 (W. Va. 1997). 130. Spencer v. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 566 N.W.2d 757 (Neb. 1997). 131. KAN. STAT. ANN. §§ 72-8901-02. 132. 20 U.S.C. § 8921.

102

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133. See e.g., W. VA. CODE § 18A-5-la. 134. Doe v. Superintendent of Sch. of Worcester, 653 N.E.2d 1088 (Mass. 1995). 135. See Seal v. Morgan, 229 F.3d 567 (6th Cir. 2000); J.M. v. Webster County Bd. of Educ., 534 S.E.2d 50 (W. Va. 2000). 136. Orange v. County of Grundy, 950 F. Supp. 1365 (E.D. Tenn. 1996). 137. New Braunfels Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Armke, 658 S.W.2d 330 (Tex. App. 1983). 138. Smith v. Sch. City of Hobart, 811 F. Supp. 391 (N.D. Ind. 1993); Hamer v. Bd. of Educ., 383 N.E.2d 231 (I11. App. Ct. 1978); Dorsey v. Bale, 521 S.W.2d 76 (Ky. Ct. App. 1975). 139. Campbell v. Bd. of Educ. of New Milford, 475 A.2d 289 (Conn. 1984). 140. Bitting v. Lee, 564 N.Y.S.2d 791 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990). 141. Raymon v. Alvord Indep. Sch. Dist., 639 F.2d 257 (5th Cir. Unit A March 1981); Knight v. Bd. of Educ. of Tri-Point Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. No. 6-J, 348 N.E.2d 299 (I11. App. Ct. 1976); but see Hamer v. Bd. of Educ., 383 N.E.2d231 (111. App. Ct. 1978); Dorsey v. Bale, 521 S.W.2d 76 (Ky. Ct. App. 1975). 142. Gutierrez v. Sch. Dist. R-l, 585 P.2d 935 (Colo. Ct. App. 1978). 143. Hawkins v. Coleman, 376 F. Supp. 1330 (N.D. Tex. 1974). 144. Smith v. Severn, 129 F.3d 419 (7th Cir. 1997). 145. See Reed v. Vermilion Local Sch. Dist, 614 N.E.2d 1101 (Ohio Ct. App. 1992). 146. Matter of C.M.J., 915 P.2d 62 (Kan. 1996).

CHAPTER

5

EQUAL EDUCATIONAL

OPPORTUNITY:

RACE AND GENDER

Chapters 5 and 6 deal with issues of equity in education. This chapter looks at legal ef­ forts to end discrimination based on race and gender. The litigation and legislation it examines challenge a variety of discriminatory practices including forced segregation of the races, gender-based denial of educational opportunity, racial and gender dis­ crimination in school discipline and athletics, and racial and sexual harassment. Chap­ ter 6 examines equity issues relating to student populations with special needs: For students with disabilities or who are limited-English speaking, equality of opportunity may require an educational program that is different and in some cases even separate from the majority of students. A third set of equity issues, relating to the way public ed­ ucation is funded, is not considered in this text because it has less direct bearing on the work of teachers. For more than fifty years, the search for equality of opportunity has been the subject of more influential litigation than any other educational issue. Even after all this time, however, the meanings of terms like equity and equality of opportunity have not been fully clarified. Does equity mean providing the same education to everyone or does it mean providing all pupils with an education tailored to their particular characteristics and needs? Does equity require spending the same amount on each student or more on some than others or should equity be viewed in terms of outcomes? For example, should everyone be given whatever education is necessary to reach a certain level of achievement? Issues like these play a central role in the cases and principles discussed in all three chapters.

103

104

CHAPTER5: EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Historically, Blacks were the first group to bring serious legal challenge to the no­ tion that states are free to provide whatever education they choose to whomever they wish. The case that dispelled this notion forever was Brown v. Board of Education.' The claims of the various other groups discussed and the litigation they have brought, although different in important respects, can be viewed as descended from Brown. 5.1

THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

The legal foundation of Brown and of the quest for equality of opportunity in education generally is the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitu­ tion, which states: "... [N]or shall [any State] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Over the years, the Supreme Court repeatedly has been called upon to define and in­ terpret these simple-sounding words. In rough terms, to deny equal protection means to treat a person or group differently from others without sufficient reason. The Four­ teenth Amendment permits the classification and differential treatment of individuals by the government if there exists an adequate justification, but prohibits discrimina­ tion when no satisfactory reasons exist. Governments create distinctions among people in almost everything they do. For example, some individuals are classified as criminals and sent to jail, whereas others remain free. Some are issued driver's licenses but others are denied them. In the realm of education, some, but not all, people are compelled to attend school. Clearly, people are treated differently, but there may be adequate justification based on criminal be­ havior (incarceration), physical capacity (driver's licenses), or age (compulsory schooling). Other bases of classification such as race, religion, or gender may not be adequate to legitimate the same differential treatment. How do courts determine if the justification for a particular classification is adequate? How are equal protection cases decided? A typical equal protection case begins with an individual or group complaining that they have been denied a benefit or suffered a burden unfairly. In most cases, the crite­ rion used by the government to allocate or deny benefits or to impose burdens selec­ tively is overt. This was the case in the south in the early 1950s when schools were segregated: Race was the openly used criterion for assigning students to schools. Sometimes, however, differential treatment occurs, but the criterion of classifica­ tion is not openly acknowledged. This may occur in education when, for example, a school board uses a "freedom of choice" or an "open-enrollment" policy as a ruse to maintain segregated schools.2 In cases like these, the Supreme Court has placed the burden of establishing the actual basis of the differential treatment on the plaintiffs. For example, when racial discrimination is claimed but not acknowledged, plaintiffs must prove that government policies were in fact driven by considerations of race. Once the criterion of classification has been established, it must next be determined whether the plaintiff or the government bears the burden of proving the adequacy of the justification for differential treatment and whether the differential treatment is in fact justified. With regard to both these issues, the Supreme Court has decided that the answers shall depend in part on the criterion of classification used. When race is the criterion, the burden of proof is on the government to provide an extremely strong jus­

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

105

tiflcation for its law or policy. In effect, race-dependent classification is presumed un­ constitutional, and unless the government can overcome the presumption by providing a truly extraordinary justification, the policy is unconstitutional. In imposing this heavy burden of proof, courts employ a test known as strict scru­ tiny. Under this test, a law or policy is presumed unconstitutional unless the govern­ ment can show that it is necessary to achieve a compelling state interest. Government actions subjected to strict scrutiny will be declared unconstitutional unless they are found essential to the attainment of a legitimate and extremely important goal. As shown later in this chapter and in subsequent chapters, courts do not impose the ul­ timate burden of persuasion on the government in all equal protection cases nor do they always require such a strong justification for differential treatment. Courts do impose this heavy burden on the government in race cases because all branches and levels of government have now acknowledged that U.S. history is marked by many instances of invidious and unjustified racial discrimination. Accordingly, when a court sees a policy formulated on the basis of race, it suspects that racial discrimination may again be occur­ ring and it wants strong and convincing assurances from the government that this is not the case. Strict scrutiny is a court's way of demanding the necessary assurances. Strict scrutiny promotes the goal of equal protection of all races by imposing a burden that the government is rarely able to meet. (Strict scrutiny is also used in cases involving funda­ mental rights—not normally relevant to education cases.3)

5.2

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: EQUAL PROTECTION PRIOR TO BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION

The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War to protect the legal and political rights of newly freed slaves. Twelve years later, the Su­ preme Court, in Strauder v. West Virginia,4 used the amendment for the first time to strike down a law barring Blacks from serving on juries. The case was easy because the law was clearly and overtly discriminatory. As the Court said, the Fourteenth Amendment pro­ tected Blacks from "legal discriminations, implying inferiority in civil society, lessening the security of their enjoyment of rights which others enjoy, and discriminations which are steps toward reducing them to the condition of a subject race." In 1886, the Court for the first time recognized the existence of racial discrimination in the application of a facially neutral law.5 The facts of the case were that all non-Chinese seeking waivers of a law prohibiting the operation of laundries in wooden build­ ings were approved, but none of the 200 Chinese applicants received waivers. The Court said this was a form of racial discrimination. A law may be fair on its face, but when administered "with an evil eye and an unequal hand" so as to make unjust dis­ criminations between persons, it is unconstitutional. "The discrimination is admitted. No reason for it is shown, and the conclusion cannot be resisted, that no reason for it ex­ ists except hostility to the race and nationality to which the petitioners belong, and which in the eye of the law is not justified." However, in 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson,6 the Court upheld a Louisiana statute re­ quiring "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races" on trains. This decision might at first seem inconsistent with Strauder, but the Court saw a dis­

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tinction between the two cases: The law in Strauder clearly gave different rights to Blacks and Whites, but the Plessy law treated Blacks and Whites the same. The Court rejected the claim that the Louisiana statute had a stigmatizing effect on Blacks and en­ dorsed the legally enforced separation of the races as constitutionally permissible. The Plessy Court did not employ the strict scrutiny test because it had not yet been devel­ oped for use in any kind of case. Rather the Court placed the burden of proof on the plaintiff to show that the law was without adequate justification. Ultimately, however, the Court found many social justifications for the law and rejected the plaintiff's claim of its harmful effects. In 1938, in a nonrace case, the Court took its first step toward adopting the strict scru­ tiny test. In United States v. Carolene Products Co.,7 the Court said that the usual pre­ sumption that laws and policies are constitutional may be weakened in cases where: (a) the legislation concerns matters specifically prohibited by the Bill of Rights, (b) the leg­ islation affects the right to vote or to disseminate information or interferes with political organizations, or (c) the legislation is directed toward religious or racial minorities. Re­ garding the last point, the Court specifically suggested that there would be a need for more "searching judicial inquiry" when "prejudice against discrete and insular minori­ ties curtails the normal political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect" them. With these dicta, the Court signaled that it would use something like strict scrutiny to deal with legislation designed to disadvantage a particular race. Another 1938 case, Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada,8 involved racial discrimina­ tion in education directly. The plaintiff challenged a policy of the University of Mis­ souri Law School denying admission to Blacks. Missouri had no separate law school for Blacks, but the state offered to pay the plaintiff's tuition at an out-of-state school. The Court declared that Missouri's policy of providing a law school for Whites but none for Blacks violated the Equal Protection Clause even under the separate-butequal doctrine. Gaines provided the basis for a sustained assault, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), on the segregated higher education systems of several states. In Sweatt v. Painter,9 the plaintiff claimed that Texas' sepa­ rate Black law school was unequal both in tangible and intangible ways. The Court agreed that the White and Black law schools were unequal in such intangibles as repu­ tation of the faculty, experience of the administration, position and influence of the alumni, standing in the community, traditions, and prestige. Thus, Texas had not met the full requirements of separate but equal, and the Court ordered the admission of the Black plaintiff to the White law school. In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents,10 decided the same year as Sweatt, the Black plaintiff had been allowed to attend the University of Oklahoma but was segre­ gated from the White students. He was assigned to a desk in an anteroom of the class­ room, confined to the mezzanine of the library, and required to eat at a separate table in the cafeteria. The Court rejected this arrangement saying that McLaurin was handicapped in his pursuit of effective graduate instruction. Such restrictions impair and inhibit his ability to study, to engage in discussion and exchange views with other stu­ dents, and, in general, to learn his profession.... The removal of the state restrictions will not necessarily abate individual and group predilections, prejudices and choices. But at

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the very least, the state will not be depriving appellant of the opportunity to secure accep­ tance by his fellow students on his own merits.

None of the cases directly overturned the doctrine of separate but equal but they were steps toward its elimination. Neither did these cases embrace the use of the strict scrutiny test in race cases. Yet, the Court in fact had used that test in 1944 in a noneducation case, Korematsu v. United States .11 The case challenged a military order excluding all persons of Japanese ancestry from significant areas of the West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Court wrote:"... all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect. That is not to say all such restrictions are un­ constitutional. It is to say that courts must subject them to the most rigid scrutiny." How­ ever, in applying the strict scrutiny standard, the Court concluded that the military order was justified by concerns of national security. This is one of the few race cases employ­ ing the strict scrutiny test that the government has won. During this same period, no such evolution was occurring in the Court's application of the Equal Protection Clause to cases not involving race. In Goesaert v. Cleary,12 the plaintiff challenged a Michigan law denying bartender's licenses to women except wives or daughters of bar owners. The Court began by stating that historical tradition justified regulating the work of women in bars: "The Fourteenth Amendment did not tear history up by the roots, ... the vast changes in the social and legal position of women ... (do) not preclude the states from drawing a sharp line between the sexes, certainly in such matters as the regulation of the liquor traffic." Regarding the exception for relatives of bar owners, the Court wrote, "While Michigan may deny to all women opportunities for bartending, Michigan cannot play favorites among women without rhyme or reason." However, the Court was satisfied that Michigan had a sufficient reason: It wished to protect women whose husbands or fathers were not present in the bar. This justification was accepted even though women were permitted to work as waitresses in bars, just not bartenders. Said the Court: "A statute is not invalid under the Constitution because it might have gone far­ ther than it did, or because it may not succeed in bringing about the result that it tends to produce." In contrast to strict scrutiny, the test used in Goesaert is known as rational basis. This test places the burden of proof on the plaintiff to show that the government's policy does not serve a legitimate purpose or that the classification is not connected in any reasonable way to a legitimate goal. Thus, in most nonrace equal protection cases, the plaintiff carries the burden of overcoming the presumption that the law is constitutional. The presumption can be overcome only by showing that the legisla­ ture was pursuing illegitimate purposes in creating the law or that its method of achieving a legitimate purpose was irrational or unreasonable. This can rarely be ac­ complished. In sum, when Brown v. Board of Education reached the Supreme Court in 1954, the equal protection doctrine had three dimensions: (a) in racial segregation in higher edu­ cation cases, separate but equal was being enforced in a way that was forcing some in­ stitutions to integrate; (b) in other race cases, the Court was moving toward the use of the strict scrutiny test; and (c) in nonrace cases, the Court was bending over backward to avoid rejecting any law by using the rational basis test.

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RACIAL SEGREGATION

Encouraged by the success of its challenges to government-enforced segregation in public higher education, the NAACP turned its attention to the lower schools. The orig­ inal plan was to pursue the same strategy as in the graduate and law school cases. Suits would be brought in various parts of the country designed to demonstrate that separate public schools were in fact unequal. The plan was not to attack directly the separate-but-equal doctrine itself but to use the doctrine to force upgrading of woefully un­ derfinanced segregated Black schools. Then, in midstream, the NAACP changed its strategy to one of attacking the separate-but-equal doctrine directly. Thus, the argu­ ment made to the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education13 and its companion case, Boiling v. Sharpe, 14 was that Plessy should be overruled and the separate-butequal doctrine rejected. Brown considered the constitutionality under the Fourteenth Amendment of state and city school districts that separated their students by race. Boiling considered the constitutionality under the Fifth Amendment of racial segregation in the federally op­ erated Washington, D.C., schools. For purposes of the lawsuits, the plaintiffs stipu­ lated that the facilities, textbooks, and other tangibles provided in the Black schools were equal to those in the White. In this way, they forced the Court to consider the issue of separate but equal directly. It would not be possible simply to order that conditions in Black schools be improved. The Brown Court framed the issue for its consideration as follows: "Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facili­ ties and other 'tangible' factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?" To decide the issue, the Court relied heavily on evi­ dence derived from social science, a procedure that had little precedent at the time. The testimony of psychologists and other scholars convinced the Court that [t]o separate [Black children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely be­ cause of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.... Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the pol­ icy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental devel­ opment of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school system.

Based on this reasoning, the Court concluded, as the plaintiffs had hoped they would, that "in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place." Schools segregated by race were unconstitutional. De jure segregation is separation of the races by law. By contrast, de facto segregation is racial separation that occurs for other reasons. Brown I (so called because it was the first in a series of Brown decisions) rejected only de jure segregation of schools. Although the decision did not refer explicitly to the strict scrutiny test, the Boiling decision issued at the same time did: "classifications based solely upon race must be scrutinized with particular

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care, since they are contrary to our traditions and hence constitutionally suspect." Boiling indicates that de jure segregation would be unconstitutional even if the Equal Protection Clause did not exist. "Segregation in public education," wrote the Court, "constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of... liberty in violation of the Due Process Clause." The Supreme Court in Brown I and Boiling reasoned that given the social and politi­ cal conditions of the United States, de jure segregated schools were inherently un­ equal. The Court found that schools segregated by law could not be equal because even if the physical facilities and other resources were similar, segregation in and of itself had deeply harmful effects on Black students. It wasn't long before the same reasoning was employed to bar de jure segregation in public places of all kinds.15 Though it was clear following Brown I, Boiling, and related cases that mandated segregation by law was unconstitutional, questions concerning the scope of the ruling remained unsettled: Did Brown I and Boiling prohibit only segregation brought about by statute, or is segregation accomplished covertly by government policy also uncon­ stitutional? Would the Court reject only de jure discrimination or would it also strike down statutes and policies that had as an unintended by-product a discriminatory im­ pact on racial minorities? It took a long time, many cases, and much confusion for answers to these questions to emerge. To make a long and complex story brief, today the Equal Protection Clause prohibits both overt and covert forms of discrimination. Intentional discrimination is unconstitutional whether enacted in a statute or accomplished through administrative policies. The Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit policies that have a discrimi­ natory or segregative impact purely as an unintended by-product. All intentional gov­ ernment discrimination, whether or not overtly incorporated into law, is de jure and therefore unconstitutional, but unintended discrimination is de facto and de facto dis­ crimination is not unconstitutional.16 Segregation that arises entirely as a result of private, nongovernment decisions or as a result of social conditions outside the government's control is not unconstitutional. This explains why so many schools remain racially segregated more than five decades after Brown outlawed de jure segregation: Most students are assigned to schools in their neighborhood, and many neighborhoods are racially segregated by factors other than intentional government action. Intent to Discriminate Proving intent to discriminate is the key to many racial discrimination cases. Legislative or administrative awareness of the discriminatory consequences of a policy by itself is not enough to prove intent to discriminate. A policy will not be found intentionally dis­ criminatory if adopted in spite of a discriminatory impact, but a policy will be found in­ tentionally discriminatory if adopted because of a discriminatory impact.17 However, to be successful, plaintiffs are not required to prove directly that the gov­ ernment tried to subject them to inferior treatment. If overt intentions cannot be estab­ lished, an intent to discriminate may be inferred from a pattern of actions whose only foreseeable consequences were segregative or otherwise discriminatory. The adoption of a law or policy that a rational decision maker should have known would have a dis­

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criminatory effect is evidence of intent to discriminate. When foreseeability is com­ bined with other corroborating evidence, intent to discriminate may be inferred. Among the kinds of evidence that may assist in a showing of intent to discriminate are the historical background and specific series of events leading to a policy decision, de­ partures from normal policy-making procedures, contemporaneous statements by pol­ icy makers, minutes of meetings and reports, and statements of officials at trial.18 Plaintiffs may also be assisted in their effort to prove that a school board engaged in in­ tentional segregation district wide by two presumptions: (a) where it has been shown that a district engaged in intentional segregation affecting a substantial portion of its schools, a finding that the entire district is intentionally discriminatory is warranted ab­ sent a showing that the district is divided into clearly unrelated units; and (b) even if the district is subdivided into unrelated units, proof of intentional discrimination in one unit is evidence of an intent to discriminate in others.19 A persistent pattern of activity with a segregative impact by a school board may also lead to a finding of intent to discriminate. The plaintiff need not prove that the intent to discriminate was accompanied by a de­ sire to harm. People may take discriminatory actions out of benevolent or paternalistic motives. For example, some people believed that slavery was in the best interest of those enslaved. Rather, all that needs to be established is that "but for" the consider­ ation of race, the decision would have been different.20 The question has been formu­ lated this way: "[S]uppose the adverse effects of the challenged governmental decision fell on whites instead of blacks.... Would the decision have been different? If the an­ swer is yes, then the decision was made with discriminatory intent." This has been called the "reversing of groups test": Would government have made the same decision if the races of those affected had been reversed?21 If not, the court will find the policy unconstitutional unless it can survive strict scrutiny. Diaz v. San Jose Unified School District22 is a case where the outcome depended on whether the school board had intended to create and maintain a segregated system of education. The alleged criterion of segregation was ethnicity. Courts view segregation by ethnicity the same way as segregation by race. The school board in Diaz admitted that it had "maintained ethnically imbalanced schools" and even that it had "omitted courses of action that would have reduced the imbalance," but it claimed that the segregation resulted from adherence to a "neighbor­ hood school" policy and thus was de facto. In finding that the board had intentionally segregated the district, the court noted that over a period of years, the board had been faced with many decisions that would affect the level of segregation in the district. These decisions concerned such matters as the creation and modification of attendance areas, the building of new schools, faculty assignments, and the provision of transpor­ tation. In virtually every instance, the board chose the "more segregative alternative," even when the other alternative would have been cheaper or more efficient. Further­ more, segregative decisions continued to be made after the board had been ordered by the state to reduce the level of segregation of its schools and despite the board's full knowledge that its policies were having exactly the opposite effect. Even with all this evidence, no single action of the board was enough to support the conclusion that the board intended to foster segregation within its schools. Rather, as the court explained:

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An inescapable conclusion that the Board intended segregation emerges from a view of the evidence as a whole. The pattern of Board choices that consistently maintained or in­ tensified segregation is apparent. Although many of the available alternatives would have presented an incomplete solution, each could have contributed incrementally to­ ward reducing ethnic imbalance. In almost every instance, the Board chose to "turn to­ ward segregation" rather than away from it. We are left with the firm conviction that the Board did ... act with segregative intent....

Thus, the segregation was found to be de jure and therefore unconstitutional even though neither the school board nor any other government authority had an explicit policy of maintaining segregated schools. In cases like Diaz, the strict scrutiny test is often employed implicitly without being discussed. Proof of intent to discriminate also establishes that the government has no adequate justification for its actions. The government cannot meet its burden of proof under strict scrutiny because the reason for its policy was to separate or dis­ tinguish between the races. If it had a compelling reason for its policies, the govern­ ment would have articulated it in the first place, rather than deny that its intention was to segregate. School districts with no history of de jure segregation need not take affirmative steps to change policies that create de facto segregation. But school districts that have been found to be de jure segregated do have an affirmative obligation to dises­ tablish their dual systems, undo the effects of segregation, and prevent an increase in segregation.23 Failure to take these positive steps is itself proof of an intent to dis­ criminate. Although only de jure segregation violates the U.S. Constitution, some state consti­ tutions may prohibit even de facto segregation. In Sheffv. O 'Neill,24 the highest court of Connecticut was presented with a pattern of racial imbalance in the state's schools that was typical of many urban areas throughout the United States. Although statewide the school population was 25.7 percent minority, the schools of Hartford were 92.4 percent minority. In the suburbs surrounding Hartford, only seven of twenty-one dis­ tricts had minority school populations greater than ten percent. In deciding whether this situation violated the Connecticut Constitution, the court noted that the state has an "affirmative constitutional obligation to provide all public school children with substantially equal educational opportunity." However, concluded the court, "[e]xtreme racial and ethnic isolation ... deprives schoolchildren of a substantially equal educational opportunity.... Racial and ethnic segregation has a pervasive and in­ vidious impact on schools, whether the segregation results from intentional conduct or from unorchestrated demographic factors." Thus, the court declared that the school districting system in the state was unconstitutional and ordered the trial court to de­ velop an "appropriate remedy." This conclusion seems consistent with the psychological evidence discussed in the original Brown decision. Why should the effects of segregation on minority students be any less damaging if the segregation results from state school districting practices, district pupil assignment policies, and White flight than if it results directly from state law? Why would de facto separate but equal be any more possible than de jure separate but equal?

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REMEDYING DE JURE SEGREGATION

After its declaration in Brown I that de jure segregation in education violated the Con­ stitution, the Supreme Court had to face the practical question of what remedy to order. Clearly, it was too much to expect that states with dual education systems and long his­ tories of social separation of the races would simply create an integrated school system because of a constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court. A year after Brown I, the Court issued another opinion, Brown II,25 ordering state and local educational au­ thorities under the supervision of federal district courts to formulate and implement plans for racial desegregation of the public schools "with all deliberate speed." The brief opinion contains few specifics, but requires the defendants to comply in "good faith" with the court's mandate in a way that takes account of local conditions and of "public and private needs." In hindsight, the vague, open-ended remedy announced in Brown II seems overly timid, especially when compared to the broad philosophical vision of Brown I. Es­ sentially Brown II reasserts the ruling that de jure segregation is illegal and orders local authorities to make a "good faith" effort to "carry out the ruling" at the "earliest practicable date." Lower federal courts are charged with supervising the desegrega­ tion effort, but warned that in doing so they must pay attention to "varied local school problems" and the importance of "reconciling public and private needs." Perhaps the Court believed that the lower federal courts could formulate specific remedies that would take into account both constitutional requirements and local social condi­ tions. Perhaps it was further hoped that acknowledging the need for a transition pe­ riod would eventually foster peaceful compliance with the Constitution. However, regardless of the Court's intention, the next years brought very little movement to­ ward desegregation and little further involvement by the Court itself. In the decade following Brown, the Supreme Court issued only three additional opinions dealing with the most blatant cases.26 Although it accomplished little desegregation at first, Brown and the resistance it engendered did much to galvanize an active and vocal civil rights movement. In turn, the work of this movement led to the adoption of the most sweeping civil rights legisla­ tion since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.27 This law, among other things, prohibited racial discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assis­ tance and barred discrimination in employment on the basis of race, gender, and reli­ gion. Based on this law, a vigorous federal effort began to dismantle segregated school systems. For the first time, opponents of de jure segregation had a potent practical weapon: States refusing to desegregate faced a total cutoff of federal education funds. Post-Brown Decisions

Following the passage of this new Civil Rights Act, the Supreme Court, perhaps be­ cause it finally had vigorous allies in Congress and the executive branch of govern­ ment, decided that it had waited long enough for the states to comply with Brown. In Green v. County School Board of New Kent County,28 the Court invalidated a "freedom of choice" attendance plan allowing each pupil the choice of attending either a for­

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merly Black or a formerly White school within the district. In practice, virtually all the district's pupils were attending the same school as before the plan was adopted. Al­ though neutral on its face, the plan was unacceptable because it served to perpetuate the segregated school system. What the Court now wanted from these dual school sys­ tems was a pupil attendance plan that would integrate the schools, a plan that would eliminate Black schools and White schools and create "just schools." "The burden on the school board today," wrote Justice Brennan, "is to come forward with a plan that promises realistically to work now." The Court underscored its more aggressive stance a year later in a per curiam opin­ ion in which it said that the Brown II era "of all deliberate speed" was over.29 All schools that had ever been segregated by law were now on notice that only desegrega­ tion plans that worked well and fast would be acceptable. These decisions, however forceful, still left lower federal courts, state legislatures, and school boards with important unanswered questions: Exactly what kind of deseg­ regation plans should and could be ordered by the lower courts? What must be done, what can be done, and what cannot be done to accomplish the mandate of Brown? The answers to these questions have been provided in a series of Supreme Court opinions during the past three decades. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education30 was a 1971 case involving a large southern school district formerly segregated by law. In 1969, after several years of operating under a district court-approved desegregation plan, the school dis­ trict still had more than fifty percent of its Black pupils attending schools that were more than ninety-nine percent Black. Responding to the mandate of the Green case, the district court imposed a new and more aggressive program of desegregation. The plan involved the grouping of inner-city mostly Black schools with outlying White schools within the district into common attendance zones with some busing of pupils in both directions. The school district challenged the district court's power to impose such a plan. In ruling against the school district and upholding the plan, the Court declared: (a) that it was permissible for the district court to adopt as a target for individual schools a racial balance similar to the district as a whole as long as the target did not function as a rigid quota; (b) that it is possible as a result of segregated living patterns for a school district under a desegregation order to maintain some one-race schools, but the school district bears the "burden of showing that such school assignments are genuinely non-discriminatory"; (c) that court-ordered grouping of schools and ger­ rymandering of school attendance zones is permissible as a remedy for intentional segregation; (d) that mandatory within-district busing of pupils is also a permissible remedy as long as the time or distance of travel is not "so great as to either risk the health of the children or significantly impinge on the educational process"; and (e) that once the district had achieved full compliance with a desegregation order, it would be declared "unitary" at which point no further remedies would be authorized. Even if a formerly de jure segregated school district becomes de facto segregated, "[n]either school authorities nor district courts, are constitutionally required to make year-by-year adjustment to the racial composition of student bodies once the affir­ mative duty to desegregate has been accomplished and racial discrimination through official action is eliminated from the system."

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In several cases following Swann, the Supreme Court developed doctrines that made it easier for plaintiffs to prove both that school authorities had engaged in de jure segregation and that their wrongful policies extended throughout the school district not just a portion of it. A practical consequence of these doctrines was to make it easier for the courts to order district-wide busing.31 The remedies approved in Swann were potentially effective methods of desegrega­ tion in school districts with racially mixed student populations (overall, CharlotteMeckenburg's students were about seventy percent White and thirty percent Black). However, no amount of redrawing of school attendance areas and busing of students could result in racially mixed student populations in predominantly Black school dis­ tricts. Unless, of course, predominantly White school districts were combined with predominantly Black districts for purposes of implementing a Swarm-like plan. In Milliken v. Bradley (Milliken I),32 the district court attempted to impose just such an interdistrict remedy. The case involved the public schools of the Detroit metropoli­ tan area. Like many large urban areas, Detroit had a mostly Black city school district surrounded by a number of mostly White suburban districts. The city school district had been found to be de jure segregated but the surrounding districts had not. Never­ theless, the district court reasoned that a desegregation plan involving only the city dis­ trict could not succeed because only about one third of the city pupils were White and because any plan that aggressively distributed the White pupils throughout the district would result in significant "White flight" to the suburbs. Therefore, the district court sought to include the suburban districts in the desegregation plan. The district court reasoned that because school district boundaries are "no more than arbitrary lines on a map 'drawn for political convenience,'" there was no reason that they could not be re­ drawn to achieve the constitutional mandate of desegregation. In rejecting the district court's plan, however, the Supreme Court declared that be­ fore a district court may impose a cross-district remedy, it must first be shown that there has been a constitutional viola­ tion within one district that produces a significant segregative effect in another district. Specifically it must be shown that racially discriminatory acts of the state or local school districts, or of a single school district have been a substantial cause of inter-district segre­ gation. Thus an inter-district remedy might be in order where the racially discriminatory acts of one or more school districts caused racial segregation in an adjacent district, or where district lines have been deliberately drawn on the basis of race. In such circum­ stances an inter-district remedy would be appropriate to eliminate the inter-district segre­ gation directly caused by the constitutional violation. Conversely, without an interdistrict violation and inter-district effect, there is no constitutional wrong calling for an inter-district remedy.

Because there had been no such showing in Detroit, the district court could not impose the cross-district plan. The goal of desegregation would be to create racial balance in individual schools similar to the racial makeup of the district as a whole. If interdistrict remedies are not permitted, what, besides creating a more even distri­ bution of the races, may district courts do to remedy de jure segregation in school dis­ tricts like Detroit? In its next consideration of Milliken v. Bradley (Milliken II),33 the district court fashioned a series of remedies designed to assure that the Black students of Detroit would not suffer educationally from the vestiges of de jure segregation. The

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major components of the plan were a "remedial reading and communications skills pro­ gram," "an in-service training program for teachers and administrators to train [them] to cope with the desegregation process" and to ensure future equitable treatment of all pu­ pils, a nonbiased testing program, and a "counseling and career guidance" program. This time, the Supreme Court approved the district court's plan, reasoning that in creating a desegregation plan, it is "essential to mandate educational components where they are needed to remedy effects of past segregation, to assure a successful desegregative effort and to minimize the possibility of resegregation." Even though the original constitu­ tional violation consisted of assigning students to schools based on race, the remedy need not be limited to nondiscriminatory reassignment. [Discriminatory student assignment policies can themselves manifest and breed other inequalities built into a dual system founded on racial discrimination. Federal courts need not, and cannot, close their eyes to inequalities, shown by the record, which flow from a longstanding segregated system.... Children who have been ... educationally and culturally set apart from the larger commu­ nity will inevitably acquire habits of speech, conduct, and attitudes reflecting their cul­ tural isolation. They are likely to acquire speech habits, for example, which vary from the environment in which they must ultimately function and compete, if they are to enter and be a part of that community. This is not peculiar to race; in this setting, it can affect any children who, as a group, are isolated by force of law from the mainstream.

Missouri v. Jenkins34 further clarified the limits of a district court's power to in­ clude "educational components" in a desegregation remedy. In Jenkins, the district court ordered a costly plan that included upgrading and modifying substandard facil­ ities to create a system of magnet schools. In order to make it possible for the school district to pay for the plan, the court mandated a property tax increase to a higher level than state law allowed. The Supreme Court found that the lower court had over­ stepped its authority in directly raising taxes; however, the district court was allowed to achieve the same result by ordering the local government to raise taxes beyond the state statutory limit. The Supreme Court said that this approach better served to pro­ tect the integrity of local institutions and placed the responsibility for the remedy on those who created the problem. A magnet school-based desegregation plan was approved in Jenkins, as in several previous cases, even though racial quotas were employed in admitting students to schools.35 However, in its last consideration of Jenkins,36 the Supreme Court held that the district court could not continue to order salary increases for instructional person­ nel and extensive remedial education programs simply because "student achievement levels were still at or below the national norms at many grade levels." The ordered sal­ ary increase was simply "too far removed from an acceptable implementation of a per­ missible means to remedy previous legally mandated segregation." Also, improve­ ment in test scores was "not necessarily required for the State to achieve partial unitary status as to the quality of education programs." Many factors other than de jure segre­ gation affect student test scores. "So long as the [other] factors are not the result of seg­ regation, they do not figure in the remedial calculus.... Insistence upon academic goals unrelated to the effects of legal segregation unwarrantably postpones the day when the [district] will be able to operate on its own."

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Based on the Supreme Court's pronouncements in these and related cases,37 the lower federal courts now mandate and authorize a variety of techniques for ending ra­ cial segregation. These techniques include, but are not limited to, mandatory busing, redrawing attendance zones, integration of faculties, magnet schools, magnet pro­ grams within schools, majority-to-minority pupil transfer programs, urban-suburban voluntary transfer programs (when no interdistrict violation has been proved), and when interdistrict violations have occurred, school district consolidations and metro­ politan busing plans. "Unitary" School Districts

Desegregation is an illusive goal in many large metropolitan areas where, after decades of White flight, a large majority of Black children continue to attend racially identifi­ able schools. Given pervasive de facto segregation, continuing resistance to desegre­ gation in some places, and constantly changing demographics and living patterns, the question arises of when has a school district succeeded in complying with a desegrega­ tion order. When, if ever, should the courts declare a case at an end and permit the school district to design its own pupil assignment plans without judicial supervision? The Supreme Court first addressed these issues in Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler.38 The Court noted that Pasadena had implemented a court-approved plan to achieve racial neutrality in student attendance. That being the case, the district court could not require the district to rearrange attendance zones each year so as to ensure that the racial mix was maintained in perpetuity.... For having once implemented a racially neutral attendance pattern in order to remedy the perceived constitutional violations ... the District Court had fully per­ formed its function of providing the appropriate remedy for previous racially discrimina­ tory patterns.

The Pasadena decision did not fully define the scope of the district courts' author­ ity to order the continuation of desegregation plans. Despite Pasadena, it was un­ clear when a school district could be declared a unitary district in which all the effects of the former dual system had been eliminated. The Supreme Court addressed this question in Board of Education of Oklahoma City Schools v. Dowell.39 The Court noted that judicial supervision of a local school district was intended only as a tempo­ rary measure designed to eliminate racial discrimination and assure compliance with a court desegregation order. It ruled that a formerly segregated school district should be considered unitary if "the board had complied in good faith with a desegregation decree" for a significant period of time and if "the vestiges of past discrimination had been eliminated to the extent practicable." In making the latter determination, a court should look "not only at student assignments, but to every facet of school operations—faculty, staff, transportation, extracurricular activities and facilities." In other words, once the effects of de jure segregation have been eliminated, a district must be considered unitary even in the face of persisting de facto segregation. The district courts may not require school districts to rearrange attendance zones and bus students in perpetuity to ensure that the integration desired by the court is maintained in the face of demographic changes.

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In its most recent consideration of the issue of when a school district should be de­ clared unitary, Freeman v. Pitts,40 the Supreme Court authorized district courts to par­ tially withdraw from control of a school district when a particular aspect of a desegregation order has been met. If, for example, all traces of segregation have been eliminated from a school district's pupil assignment procedures, the court may cease its oversight of that aspect of the district's operations while continuing to monitor other aspects of a mandated desegregation plan. The school district would, in effect, be declared unitary a piece at a time. Despite Freeman, Pasadena, and Dowell, judicial supervision of school districts can continue for decades. For example, it was more than forty years after the original Brown decision when the courts stopped supervising pupil assignment plans in To­ peka, Kansas.41 And it was thirty years after Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (the case that authorized busing to promote desegregation) that the school district was finally declared unitary.42 Many other formerly dual systems have also been declared unitary, including Delaware, Boston, Atlanta, and Houston.43 Five decades after Brown, overt de jure racial segregation in education has largely been eradicated, but many related problems of educational law and policy remain. Most large urban school districts now enroll a predominantly minority student popula­ tion (much more so than fifty years ago), a significant percentage of whom are poor. Although the racial and social class isolation that marks these districts is usually clas­ sified as de facto segregation, debate continues regarding whether, at least in some cases, it should be viewed as de jure; whether this form of de facto segregation is a vio­ lation of Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964 (see sec. 5.8); whether, even if ending this form of segregation is not mandated by law, states as a matter of sound educational pol­ icy ought to take aggressive steps to do so; and what those steps might be. One at­ tempted solution that has been tried in a small number of cities is an educational voucher plan. The No Child Left Behind Act represents another attempt to bring im­ proved education to students in high minority, low SES districts and districts marked by low educational achievement (see sec. 2.7). Efforts to reform state school finance systems through litigation represent a third approach.

5.5

OTHER FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

De jure segregation is not the only form of racial discrimination prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause. Students may claim racial discrimination in standardized testing, tracking and ability grouping, disciplinary policies, or other areas of school policy and practice. Even in-class pupil grouping policies can violate the Equal Protec­ tion Clause. In a Seventh Circuit case, a teacher deliberately assigned a Black student to a group of four students that included another Black student because, as she ex­ plained in court, "I think in my education training sometimes we were told that African-American students need a buddy, and sometimes it works well if they have someone else working with them because they view things in a global manner." The court ruled that because the grouping was based on race, it could only be justified if the strict scrutiny test were satisfied. Strict scrutiny was not satisfied because the grouping rested on a stereotypical (not scientifically validated) view of Black students.44

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Regardless of the context or form of the alleged racial discrimination, to prove a vio­ lation of the Equal Protection Clause, plaintiffs must prove that school officials acted with an intent to discriminate. It is not enough that a school policy or practice happens to have a disproportionate effect on a particular race or ethnic group. For example, using an IQ test to assign pupils to ability groups may have the effect of disproportion­ ately assigning one race to the lowest track. Or a school basketball team's try-out pro­ cedures may have the effect of excluding all members of one race from the team. Use of the IQ test or try-out procedure is unconstitutional only if done because of, rather than in spite of, its disproportionate effect.45 Thus, a federal court refused to block the use of a nonculturally biased minimum competency exam even though a higher percentage of Blacks than Whites failed the test. The exam's purpose was to ensure that all students reach a certain level of knowledge and skill before receiving a diploma.46 Statistics showing that the burden of a particular policy or practice falls dispropor­ tionately on one race may be part of a showing of unconstitutional discrimination, but by themselves they can never be sufficient. In Hawkins v. Coleman,47 plaintiffs suc­ ceeded in proving intent to discriminate in the way a school district administered its disciplinary program. Statistics showed that Black students were suspended from school and subjected to corporal punishment significantly more frequently than White students. But the deciding factor in the case was expert testimony as well as the admis­ sions of school officials themselves indicating that at least some of the disproportion­ ate suspensions and corporal punishment given to Black students were the result of cultural insensitivity and bias. The discrimination was ruled intentional even though there was no evidence that school officials had set out to punish Black students more frequently than Whites.48 Another disproportionate impact case arose in connection with a school district's attempt to desegregate. The district adopted a "majority to minority" transfer program allowing students to transfer out of their regular attendance area provided the transfer would move the racial balance of the student's new school closer to that of the district as a whole. Fearful that coaches in the predominantly White schools would use the transfer provision to recruit Black athletes, the district adopted a rule requiring trans­ ferring high school students to sit out a year before becoming eligible to play. Black students forced to choose between not transferring and sitting out claimed that the rule violated the Equal Protection Clause, but the court disagreed. Although the burden of the policy might fall disproportionately on Blacks, the court concluded that this result was not intentional. The policy had been adopted at the request of Black school board members in order to prevent illegal and exploitative recruiting of Black athletes and help the predominantly Black schools retain student leaders and the positive effects of successful athletic teams.49

5.6

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND VOLUNTARY RACIAL INTEGRATION

As Section 5.4 shows, race may—in fact, must—be taken into consideration when fashioning remedies for proven de jure racial segregation. But because de facto segre­ gation is not illegal, the question of whether race may be taken into consideration when, in the absence of proven de jure segregation, a school board voluntarily seeks to

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integrate its schools raises a very different issue. The Supreme Court has never ruled on a case that challenged an elementary or secondary school's plan for increasing racial diversity within its student body, but two 2003 Supreme Court decisions concerning af­ firmative action in public universities suggest a framework for deciding such cases. The more significant of the two decisions, Grutter v. Bollinger,50 was an extremely contentious case (even by Supreme Court standards) that produced a five-justice major­ ity opinion and four fully or partially dissenting opinions. Collectively, the dissenting opinions vigorously disagreed with virtually every significant finding of the majority. The case involved a challenge to the affirmative action admission plan of the Uni­ versity of Michigan Law School. Michigan's highly ranked law school annually ad­ mitted approximately ten percent of 3,500 applicants. In selecting among the applicants, the school relied heavily on the applicants' undergraduate GPA and Law School Admission Test scores, but also considered personal statements, letters of rec­ ommendation, and essays in which applicants described the way they would contribute to the life and diversity of the law school. The aim was to select the most capable stu­ dents and those who would make the best lawyers, while at the same time achieving a diverse student body "which has the potential to enrich everyone's education and thus make the law school class stronger than the sum of its parts." Various forms of diversity were sought, in particular "the inclusion of students from groups which have been historically discriminated against, like African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, who without this commitment might not be repre­ sented in [the school's] student body in meaningful numbers." Certain minority groups (e.g., Asian-Americans) were not covered by the policy because the law school be­ lieved members of those groups were being admitted in significant numbers without special consideration. The ultimate goal was to realize the educational benefits associ­ ated with diversity: cross-racial understanding; break down of racial stereotypes; live­ lier, more spirited and enlightening classroom discussion; better preparation for employment in a diverse workforce; development of skills needed in an increasingly global marketplace; and elimination of the belief that minority students consistently express a characteristic minority viewpoint. These educational benefits, the law school said, could only be accomplished if there was a "critical mass" of underrepre­ sented minority students. "Critical mass" was defined as "meaningful numbers" or "meaningful representation," which meant sufficient numbers so that minority stu­ dents were encouraged to participate in the classroom and not feel isolated. Minority students, the school said, should not be so limited in number that they feel they are the spokespersons for their race. Although the admissions staff was not directed to admit a particular percentage of minority students, they did pay close attention to race. Analysis by an expert witness showed that membership in the targeted minority groups was in fact an extremely strong factor but not the predominant factor in acceptance. Thirty-five percent of the minority applicants were admitted; if race had not been considered, only ten percent of the minority applicants would have been admitted, the same percentage as majority ap­ plicants. If race had not been considered, the entering classes would have been four percent minority instead of just over fourteen percent. In considering the Equal Protection Clause challenge of a disappointed White appli­ cant to these admissions policies, the Court employed the strict scrutiny test. Strict

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scrutiny would not be satisfied, said the Court, if the goal of the admission system were to reduce the historic deficit of traditionally disfavored minorities in a professional school, to remedy societal discrimination, or to increase the number of minority attor­ neys. However, based on the law school's judgment that diversity is essential to its ed­ ucational mission, the Court found that the goal of achieving a diverse student body could provide the compelling state interest necessary to satisfy strict scrutiny. But, said the Court, in seeking this goal, the school could not employ a quota, could use race as only one element among others in realizing a diverse student body, could not unduly harm the members of any racial or ethnic group, and could only employ a selection pro­ cess that was "narrowly tailored" to meet the goal. Applying these principles, the Court concluded that the law school's policies did in fact serve the compelling state interest in creating a diverse student body and that they were narrowly tailored to meet that goal. Narrow tailoring, said the Court, did not re­ quire exhaustion of every conceivable race-neutral alternative that might achieve a di­ verse student body. In any event, the law school did sufficiently consider race-neutral alternatives such as a lottery or simply lowering admission standards, but it had valid reasons for rejecting these alternatives. Nor, said the Court, did the policies amount to a quota system. The school engaged in a "highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant's file, giving serious consideration to all the ways an applicant might con­ tribute to a diverse educational environment. Race operated only as a plus factor in the context of individualized consideration of each and every applicant." While there was a goal—"critical mass"—there was not a certain fixed number or proportion of seats reserved for minority groups. Some attention to numbers did not transform a flexible admissions system into a rigid quota system and race never led to automatic acceptance or rejection. The school also gave substantial weight to diversity factors besides race: Because the Law School considers "all pertinent elements of diversity," it can (and does) select nonminority applicants who have greater potential to enhance student body diver­ sity over underrepresented minority applicants.... The Law School frequently accepts nonminority applicants with grades and test scores lower than underepresented minority applicants (and other nonminority applicants) who are rejected.

The decision concludes with the stipulation that race-conscious policies must be limited in time: [R]acial classifications, however compelling their goals, are potentially so dangerous that they may be employed no more broadly than the interest demands.... We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.

The majority did not explain why it expected that the conditions justifying the affirma­ tive action plan in 2003 would not be present in 2028. The second higher education affirmative action case, Gratz v. Bollinger,51 rejected the undergraduate admissions policies of the University of Michigan. Admission deci­ sions from among more than 13,000 applicants were based on a point system, with points being awarded for, among other things, grade point average, test scores, special talents, alumni relationship, in-state residency, leadership, and race. Applicants re­

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ceived twenty points, one-fifth of the points needed to guarantee admission, for mem­ bership in an underrepresented racial or ethnic minority group. Employing the principles announced in Grutter, the Gratz decision concluded that, unlike the law school policy, the undergraduate system was "not narrowly tailored to achieve the interest in educational diversity." The difficulty was that this approach did not provide the kind of individualized consideration that was the hallmark of the ad­ mission process in Grutter. The automatic assignment of twenty points had the effect of making "the factor of race ... decisive" for virtually every minimally qualified underrepresented minority applicant.... By comparison a nonminority student with artis­ tic talent that rivaled that of Picasso would receive at most five points. Neither the minor­ ity nor nonminority student received truly individualized consideration to determine how they would benefit the university. And the fact that providing individualized consider­ ation to thousands of applications would create "administrative challenges" does not ren­ der constitutional an otherwise problematic system.

The Grutter and Gratz decisions have important implications for public elementary and secondary school pupil assignment, transfer, and admission plans designed to pro­ mote cultural diversity and integration. To pass constitutional muster, any pupil as­ signment policy that is even partially based on race must survive strict scrutiny. Consideration of race must be necessary to the achievement of a compelling state pur­ pose, and the policy must be narrowly tailored to achieve the purpose. Creation of a culturally diverse student body may be considered a compelling state purpose, but remedying generalized societal discrimination or racial disadvantage will not. Strict quota systems and policies that rely on race to the exclusion of other relevant factors will not be accepted. Prior to Grutter and Gratz, a number of lower courts had already decided cases con­ sistent with this approach. In 1996, White plaintiffs were successful in challenging the affirmative action admissions policy of Boston Latin School (BLS), an elite public high school with competitive admissions based on a standardized test score and grades. Under the affirmative action policy, BLS set aside thirty-five percent of the available places for Black and Hispanic students; without this set-aside, minority en­ rollment would have been fifteen percent. The district court concluded that the school district might be able either to establish that the plan served the compelling state inter­ est of rectifying a history of de jure segregation within the district or (consistent with the later ruling in Grutter) to show that achieving diversity in BLS was a compelling state interest. Nevertheless, the court found that the policy was not narrowly tailored because the set-aside had no termination date, and the district had not explored other "less racially preferential plans for keeping BLS accessible to 'qualified' students of all races and ethnicities," such as choosing students by lottery after a pool of eligible students had been established based on grades and test scores.52 In a decision that is bolstered by Gratz, a district court found in favor of White stu­ dents who objected to a school transfer policy. In 1993, Ohio adopted an open enroll­ ment law, permitting students to transfer from their home school district to an adjacent district if both districts adopted policies allowing transfers. Under the law, a district could block its students from transferring out for a number of reasons including a de­ sire to maintain the racial balance of the district. Fearful that the open enrollment law

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would lead to White flight, the Akron board adopted a policy that prohibited White stu­ dents from transferring to another district. Subsequently, the board also adopted a pol­ icy that blocked the transfer of nonwhite students into the district. Using strict scrutiny, the court found the policy unconstitutional because, among other reasons, there were other methods to achieve the desired ends, and the policy sent the message that White students were more valuable then nonwhite students.53 A 1999 Fourth Circuit case considered a pupil transfer policy that took into ac­ count the "diversity profile" of the two schools involved. The case involved a White student who was denied a transfer to a desirable magnet school because his school of origin was twenty-four percent White compared to the district's fifty-three percent. In deciding the case, the Fourth Circuit assumed (now confirmed by Grutter} that "diversity may be a compelling governmental interest." Nevertheless, the court re­ jected the policy because the school's goal was not trying to achieve the educational benefits of diversity but merely "racial balance": "Although the transfer policy does not necessarily apply 'hard and fast quotas,' its goal of keeping certain percentages of racial/ethnic groups within each school to ensure diversity is racial balancing." The policy involved here did not allow every applicant for a transfer to be eligible for every available spot. The school to which the plaintiff wanted to transfer was racially stable, yet the plaintiff was not allowed to transfer simply because the percentage of Whites in the school of origin would decrease. It did not matter to the court that the policy was race neutral in that a minority student would also have been denied a transfer if the transfer adversely affected the percentage of minority students in the school of origin.54 In the same year, the Fourth Circuit also ruled that an oversubscribed alternative school could not use a racially weighted lottery to promote racial and ethnic diversity in its student body. Again the court assumed that student-body diversity was a compel­ ling state interest, but the lottery system, which increased the chances of minority stu­ dents, was not narrowly tailored to promote diversity: There were alternative race-neutral policies that could have been employed such as allotting a certain number of places to each neighborhood school, there was no time limit on the race-weighted policy, and the weighted lottery was deemed to be practically the same as a racial set-aside (quota) program. The court also noted that the policy imposed a burden on in­ nocent third parties such as the plaintiffs by teaching them to view themselves as mem­ bers of racial and ethnic groups.55 Another 1999 case, this one in the Ninth Circuit, did permit an school to make ad­ missions decisions partially on the basis of race and ethnicity. The case involved an el­ ementary laboratory school operated by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Graduate School of Education, one of whose purposes was to study issues re­ lated to urban education. The court found the operation of a laboratory school to be a compelling state purpose and accepted the testimony of UCLA researchers that in order to conduct their research it was necessary to have a student body made up of pre­ determined percentages of particular racial and ethnic groups and that race conscious admissions were the only way to achieve the necessary diversity.56 After Grutter and Gratz, it is doubtful that an admissions program like this—essentially a racial quota system established for research purposes—would be approved today, even in a labora­ tory school.

THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION

5.7

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THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION

As we saw in the Goesaert female-bartender case (p. 107), rational basis was the tradi­ tional test for adjudicating cases of alleged sex discrimination. However, in 1973, the Court, in a plurality opinion, seemed to decide to employ strict scrutiny instead. In Frontiero v. Richardson,51 the plurality wrote that classifications based upon sex, like those based on race, were "inherently suspect and must therefore be subjected to close judicial scrutiny." Then, in 1976, the Court retreated partway from the use of strict scrutiny in gender cases, adopting instead a new test known as substantial relation or the middle-level test. This test is far stricter than rational basis but still more lenient than strict scrutiny. To trigger the use of the substantial-relation test, the plaintiff must first establish the existence of either overt gender discrimination (e.g., when a statute or other rule explicitly treats males and females differently) or covert gender discrimination (e.g., unadmitted preferential treatment of one gender) in the administration of govern­ ment policies or practices. Once this has been accomplished, the burden of proof shifts to the government to establish that its policy serves a purpose that is both legiti­ mate and important and that treating males and females differently is substantially related to that purpose.58 The law will be declared unconstitutional if the government fails to meet its burden. Courts will employ the middle-level test to evaluate equal protection challenges to school policies or practices that classify students according to gender, from single-sex schools to sex-segregated sports teams. The constitutionality of a sex-segregated high school has been addressed in only one case, Vorchheimer v. School District of Philadelphia. 59 In Vorchheimer, a teenage girl sought admission to Central High School, an all-male program with high academic standards. Philadelphia also had an all-female high school, Girls High, of equal quality and prestige, as well as a number of coed high schools. The plaintiff's reasons for seeking admission to Central were outlined by the court as follows: As to Girls High, she commented, "I just didn't like the impression it gave me. I didn't think I would be able to go there for three years and not be harmed in any way by it." As to Central she said, "I liked the atmosphere and also what I heard about it, about its aca­ demic excellence." She was somewhat dissatisfied with her education at George Wash­ ington High School because of her belief that the standard which the teachers set for the students was not high enough.

Nevertheless, the court, relying on the middle-level test, rejected the constitutional challenge and upheld the sex-segregated school: The gravamen of the plaintiff's case is her desire to attend a specific school based on its particular appeal to her. She believes that the choice should not be denied her because of an educational policy with which she does not agree. We are not unsympathetic with her desire to have an expanded freedom of choice, but its costs should not be overlooked. If she were to prevail, then all public single-sex schools would have to be abolished. The absence of these schools would stifle the ability of the local school board to continue with a respected educational methodology. It follows too that those students and parents who prefer an education in a public, single-sex school

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would be denied their freedom of choice. The existence of private schools is no more an answer to those people than it is to the plaintiff.

The dissenting judge argued that Philadelphia had failed to meet its burden of proof under the middle-level test: Some showing must be made that a single-sex academic high school policy advances the Board's objectives in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Equal Protection Clause.... The Board, as the district court emphasized, did not present sufficient evidence that coed­ ucation has an adverse effect upon a student's academic achievement. Indeed, the Board could not seriously assert that argument in view of its policy of assigning the vast major­ ity of its students to coeducational schools. Presumably any detrimental impact on a student's scholastic achievement attributable to coeducation would be as evident in Philadelphia's coeducational comprehensive schools which offer college preparatory courses as the Board suggests it would be in its exclusively academic high schools. Thus, the Board's single-sex policy reflects a choice among educational techniques but not nec­ essarily one substantially related to its stated educational objectives. One of those objec­ tives, in fact, is to provide "educational options to students and their parents." ... The implementation of the Board's policy excluding females from Central actually precludes achievement of this objective because there is no option of a coeducational academic se­ nior high school.

Litigation since Vorchheimer suggests that the dissenting judge's position may have been correct. In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan,60 the male plaintiff objected to the female-only admissions policy of a state nursing school. The state de­ fended its policy by noting that it offered coeducational nursing programs at other pub­ lic universities and arguing that the single sex program served the important purpose of compensating for past discrimination against women. However, the Supreme Court found the state's position deficient on both criteria of the middle-level test: The single-sex admission policy served no important government purpose and was not even substantially related to the purpose proposed by the state: It is readily apparent that a State can evoke a compensatory purpose to justify an other­ wise discriminatory classification only if members of the gender benefited by the classi­ fication actually suffer a disadvantage related to the classification.... In sharp contrast, Mississippi has made no showing that women lacked opportunities to obtain training in the field of nursing or to attain positions of leadership in that field.

On the contrary, said the Court, rather than compensating for discrimination, the ad­ missions policy perpetuated the stereotyped view of nursing as an exclusively woman's job. That the school permitted men to audit its classes undermined its claim that the presence of men would adversely affect the performance of female students or change teaching styles and that men would dominate the classroom. United States v. Virginia61 was another Supreme Court case that considered the con­ stitutionality of a state-sponsored single-sex institution of higher education. Again em­ ploying the middle-level test, the Court placed the burden on the state to come up with an "exceedingly persuasive justification" for the categorical exclusion of women from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The state's first argument was that offering a sin­

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gle-sex option contributed to the goal of making available a diversity of educational op­ tions. But the Court concluded that this goal was not served by offering a unique educational benefit only to males. The state's second argument was that the admission of women would "destroy" the VMI program, thus denying both men and women the op­ portunity to benefit from it. But the Court disagreed: "The notion that admission of women would downgrade VMI's stature, destroy the adversative system and, with it, even the school, is a judgment hardly proved, a prediction hardly different from other 'self-fulfilling prophecies' once routinely used to deny rights or opportunities." The Court noted that the same sorts of arguments had been made to deny women access to law and medical schools. Surely, said the Court, "the State's great goal [of educating cit­ izen soldiers] is not substantially advanced by women's categorical exclusion, in total disregard of their individual merit, from the State's premier 'citizen-soldier' corps." In Garrett v. Board of Education of City of Detroit,62 a case that raised a variety of legal and educational issues, a federal district court issued an injunction prohibiting the opening of Detroit's planned all-male "Academies," elementary schools specially designed for at-risk urban boys. The Academies planned to "offer special programs in­ cluding a class entitled 'Rites of Passage,' an Afrocentric (Pluralistic) curriculum, fu­ turistic lessons in preparation for 21st century careers, an emphasis on male responsibility, mentors, Saturday classes, individualized counseling, extended class­ room hours, and student uniform." Although the court agreed that addressing "the cri­ sis facing African-American males manifested by high homicide, unemployment and drop-out rates" was an important government purpose, it nevertheless found that the proposed Academies failed to meet the requirements of the middle-level test: "While these statistics underscore a compelling need, they fall short of demonstrating that ex­ cluding girls is substantially related to the achievement of the Board's objectives." The court noted that the proposed program ignored what the school board itself admitted was an "equally urgent and unique crisis" facing urban girls. The court also declared that the creation of new single-sex schools violates the federal statute known as Title IX (see sec. 5.8). Garrett makes it questionable whether there are any circumstances that would allow a school board to create new single-sex schools. Parallel boys' and girls' programs of equal quality might pass constitutional muster if supported by stronger research evi­ dence of the efficacy of single-sex schooling than currently exists. However, like Garrett, most cases alleging gender discrimination in education rely on a combination of constitutional and statutory theories, so even if constitutional, single-sex schools might still be impermissible. The most common gender discrimination cases in elementary and secondary schools involve sex segregation in sports or occasionally, in student organizations. Fe­ male plaintiffs have their strongest chance of winning a case under the Equal Protec­ tion Clause when they have been totally excluded from playing a sport because of the absence of a girls' team. For example, in Force v. Pierce R-VI School District,63 the court employed the middle-level test in ruling in favor of a girl who wished to try out for her junior high football team. Noting that even the smallest and frailest boys were allowed to try out for the team, the court rejected the school's contention that exclud­ ing girls from football was substantially related to the goal of ensuring the safety of the players. The court explained its conclusion as follows:

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Nichole Force obviously has no legal entitlement to a starting position on the Pierce City Junior High School eighth grade football team, since the extent to which she plays must be governed solely by her abilities, as judged by those who coach her. But she seeks no such entitlement here. Instead she seeks simply a chance, like her male counterparts, to display those abilities. She asks, in short, only the right to try. I do not suggest there is any such thing as a constitutional "right to try." But the idea that one should be allowed to try—to succeed or to fail as one's abilities and fortunes may dic­ tate, but in the process at least to profit by those things which are learned in the trying—is a concept deeply engrained in our way of thinking, and it should indeed require a "sub­ stantial" justification to deny that privilege to someone simply because she is a female rather than a male. I find no such justification here.

When a comparable girls' team is available, a girl's chance of winning the right to try out for the boys' team is diminished if the sport involves contact.64 In cases involv­ ing noncontact sports, girls have a good chance of winning, especially if a girls' team is not available.65 But some courts have upheld the notion of separate but equal even for noncontact sports.66 The legal situation is even less clear regarding boys seeking to participate in noncontact girls' sports. When there is no boys' team available, male plaintiffs have met with mixed results.67 Some courts have been persuaded that girls' teams are important for ensuring girls a fair opportunity to participate in sports. One court rejected both the constitutional and statutory arguments of a boy seeking to play on a girls' field hockey team.68 5.8

FEDERAL ANTIDISCRIMINATION STATUTES

Several federal statutes supplement the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting various forms of discrimination. This section considers two of these statutes as they pertain to the treatment of students by schools: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which deals with race and ethnicity, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which deals with gender discrimination. (See chap. 7 for a discussion of federal stat­ utes prohibiting discrimination in employment.) Title VI (section 601) of the Civil Rights Act of 196569 provides: "No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The Department of Educa­ tion regulations implementing Title VI state that a school district may not provide dif­ ferent or separate treatment or services or segregate on the grounds of race, color, or national origin.70 A school district that violates this law faces the loss of all its federal funds. Title VI applies to everything a school does even if only one program or activity receives federal funds. Thus, for example, if a school receives federal support for its lunch program, it must comply with Title VI in all of its activities. Title VI supplements the Equal Protection Clause in three ways. First, although the Equal Protection Clause can be enforced only through a suit brought by parents or students directly affected by discrimination, Title VI can be enforced by the at­ torney general of the United States,71 by any federal department or agency that

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awards federal funds to school districts, 72 or through litigation brought by an individual. 73 Although this issue has not been decided, it seems possible that courts may use Title VI to award compensatory and punitive damages to individual victims of discrimination by school districts. 74 Second, unlike the Equal Protection Clause, proof of intent to discriminate may not be necessary under Title VI. If a federal agency has promulgated regulations implementing Title VI, and the regulations in­ terpret Title VI to prohibit policies having a discriminatory impact, then proof of a discriminatory impact alone will be sufficient to prove a Title VI violation. 75 Thus, unintentional discrimination may some times be remedied through Title VI. But the remedy must be one sought by the Department of Education because the Supreme Court has ruled that private individuals may not sue to enforce disparate-impact regulations under Title VI. 76 That a policy has a discriminatory impact may not nec­ essarily mean that Title VI has been violated if the policy is consistent with educa­ tional necessity. For example, a school might defend the use of a standardized test that one race fails at a higher rate than another by showing that the test is reliable and valid and that there is no less discriminatory measure available. 77 Third, unlike the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI applies to private as well as public schools provided they receive federal funds. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 197278 closely parallels Title VI: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education pro­ gram or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Federal law makes it clear that Title IX applies to everything a school does even if only one activity or program receives federal funds. 79 Thus, a school's athletic pro­ gram is subject to Title IX regulations even if the school's only federal funds are for special education. Like Title VI, Title IX permits lawsuits by both federal agencies and individuals80 and applies to any private or public school that gets federal funds. Student victims of gender discrimination may use Title IX to seek a court order end­ ing the discrimination. Student victims of intentional gender discrimination may also be awarded monetary damages from the offending school district but not from individ­ ual perpetrators of discrimination.81 The courts are split on whether victims of gender discrimination may use another federal law, known as Section 1983 (see sec. 10.9), to seek monetary damages from individual perpetrators of discrimination.82 The courts are also split on the issue of whether Title IX prohibits unintentional gender discrimination.83 Although the Supreme Court has not ruled on this issue, if its interpretation of Title VI were applied to Title IX, some unintentional gender discrimination could be prohibited.84 The extensive regulations issued to enforce Title IX prohibit the following: • Courses or other activities segregated on the basis of sex, except contact sports offered in physical education and sex education offered in elementary grades. Vocal ranges may also be taken into account in choral groups.85 • Admission tests that disproportionately affect one sex, unless they can be vali­ dated as reliable predictors of educational ability and as the least prejudicial means of prediction.86 • Codes of student conduct that treat males and females differently.87

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• Counseling materials that discriminate on the basis of gender, for example by en­ couraging different courses or occupations for different sexes.88 • Rules concerning marriage or pregnancy that treat students differently on the basis of sex. Thus, students may not be denied educational benefits because they are pregnant.89 In the Garrett case (see sec. 5.7), a federal judge relied partly on Title IX regulations to prohibit the opening of all-male elementary school "Academies" in the city of Detroit. The following Title IX regulation, Section 106.41, has had a profound effect on schools: Athletics (a) General. No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be de­ nied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discrimi­ nated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered by a recipient, and no recipient shall provide any such athletics separately on such basis. (b) Separate teams. Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, a recipient may operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport. However, where a recipient operates or sponsors a team in a particular sport for members of one sex but operates or sponsors no such team for members of the other sex, and ath­ letic opportunities for members of that sex have previously been limited, members of the excluded sex must be allowed to try-out for the team offered unless the sport involved is a contact sport. For the purposes of this part, contact sports include boxing, wrestling, rugby, ice hockey, football, basketball and other sports the purpose or major activity of which involves bodily contact. (c) Equal opportunity. A recipient which operates or sponsors interscholastic, intercolle­ giate, club or intramural athletics shall provide equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes. In determining whether equal opportunities are available the Director will consider, among other factors: (1) Whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes; (2) The provision of equipment and supplies; (3) Scheduling of games and practice time; (4) Travel and per diem allowance; (5) Opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring; (6) Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors; (7) Provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities; (8) Provision of medical and training facilities and services; (9) Provision of housing and dining facilities and services; (10) Publicity. Unequal aggregate expenditures for members of each sex or unequal expenditures for male and female teams if a recipient operates or sponsors separate teams will not consti­ tute non-compliance with this section, but the Assistant Secretary may consider the fail­ ure to provide necessary funds for teams for one sex in assessing equality of opportunity for members of each sex.

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These regulations have created some confusion. Section 106.41 allows sex-segregated teams in the following circumstances: contact sports regardless of whether there is a team available for the excluded sex, noncontact sports selected on a competitive basis when there is a team available for each sex, and noncontact sports selected on a competitive basis when only one team is available provided that athletic opportunities for the excluded sex have not previously been limited, such as by inferior funding or fa­ cilities. Thus, the regulations seem to permit separation when some of the constitu­ tional decisions discussed in Section 5.7 would not. For example, as in the Force case, female athletes have sometimes employed the Equal Protection Clause to gain the right to try out for male teams even in contact sports. At least in those jurisdictions where these decisions have occurred, the conflicting federal regulations may not be imple­ mented because the Constitution takes precedence over all other laws and regulations. In addition to federal law, some states have constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations that also prohibit various forms of discrimination. State law may, and in some states does, impose stricter antidiscrimination requirements than federal law. For example, state law may ensure greater opportunities for female students to try out for male teams than federal law.90 5.9

RACIAL AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Racial and sexual harassment were first recognized as legally impermissible forms of discrimination in the context of employment law. The implementing regulations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 proclaim that an employee may not be sub­ jected to a racially or sexually hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment. In addition to hostile-environment harassment, the regulations also recognize another form of sexual harassment known as "quid pro quo." In quid-pro-quo harassment, an employee is asked to exchange sex for job benefits (see sec. 7.4). In recent years, students have looked to the law to protect them against racial or sex­ ual intimidation and improper sexual advances while at school. Courts have become increasingly sympathetic to the idea that students have a right not to be subjected to ra­ cial or sexual harassment by school employees or even by other students. Both hostileenvironment racial or sexual harassment and quid-pro-quo sexual harassment against students are now recognized as legal wrongs. Under certain narrowly defined circumstances, the Constitution may protect stu­ dents against harassment. The Equal Protection Clause applies only when the offender is a school official, not a fellow student,91 and only when the victims can show that the offending conduct was intentionally discriminatory against their race or gender. In one case, a gay male student won an equal protection suit against school officials who had a policy of protecting female students from sexual harassment, but who for years had re­ fused to protect the student from physical assault. The gay student was taunted, uri­ nated upon, and even kicked so forcefully that he sustained internal injuries, but despite repeated protests to school officials nothing was done. The peer harassment it­ self was not an Equal Protection Clause violation, but the discriminatory protection policy was.92 The Due Process Clause also may be used to object to sexual harassment

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when there has been a significant violation of bodily integrity and again only when the offender is a school official. Thus, one student successfully brought a due process suit against a teacher who repeatedly had sexual intercourse with her.93 Where there has been threatened or actual bodily harm or violation (e.g., sexual in­ tercourse), the racial or sexual harassment may constitute assault or battery under state civil and criminal law (see sec. 10.1). However, in most cases, the most effective pro­ tection for students against racial or sexual harassment at school is found in federal statutes. In recent years, the Department of Education (ED) and the courts have come to view racial harassment of a student as a violation of Title VI and sexual harassment of a student as a violation of Title IX. The idea is that students who experience racial or sexual harassment are being denied the benefits of their school's program on the basis of race or gender so harassment is a form of discrimination. According to ED guidelines, racial94 or sexual95 harassment occurs when because of race or gender a student experiences conduct "by an employee, by another student, or by a third party that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment." The guidelines provide a list of factors to be used in determining whether racial or sexual harassment has occurred including the type, frequency, and duration of the conduct; the number of individuals involved; and whether the victim suffered falling grades or psychological distress. The guidelines specifically state that the more severe the conduct, the less it need be persistent to con­ stitute a violation. "Indeed, a single or isolated incident of sexual harassment may, if sufficiently severe, create a hostile environment." Because there has been more litigation over sexual than racial harassment in schools, the law regarding sexual harassment is far more developed. The ED guide­ lines state that "[s]exually harassing conduct ... can include unwelcome sexual ad­ vances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature." However, Title IX does not prohibit nonsexual touching or other nonsexual conduct. "For example, a high school athletic coach hugging a student who made a goal or a kindergarten teacher's consoling hug for a child with a skinned knee will not be considered sexual harassment." Similarly, "[a] kiss on the cheek by a first grader does not constitute sexual harassment." Nor is harassment or bullying based on animosity or bad blood covered by Title IX. One court ruled that threats, acts of intimi­ dation, and name calling (including "sexual names, such as bitch, pussy, and slut") di­ rected by male members of a gang toward a female student and her brother were not actionable under Title IX because they were based on "personal animus rather than gender."96 But, "[a] teacher's repeatedly hugging and putting his or her arms around students under inappropriate circumstances could create a hostile environment." Thus, a school employee who on several occasions touched a student's breast, buttocks, and thigh and made sexual comments to her was found to have committed wrongful sexual harassment.97 In general, sexual conduct directed at a student by an adult school employee consti­ tutes harassment even if the student does not object or appears to welcome the conduct. ED guidelines state that the younger the student, the less likely the student will be deemed to have the legal capacity to consent to sexual conduct. The Seventh Circuit ruled that a thirteen-year-old plaintiff did not need to establish in a Title IX suit that she

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131

did not welcome the sexual advances—suggestive notes, phone calls, touching, and kissing—of a teacher.98 For older high school students, ED guidelines create a rebutt­ able presumption that a sexual relationship with an adult school employee is not con­ sensual. The Supreme Court has stated that sex between a student and a school employee usually constitutes sexual harassment even if the student consents." Sexual conduct by one student toward another may constitute harassment if the con­ duct is unwelcome and persistent or severe. One court concluded that a student had been subjected to hostile-environment harassment when another student persistently touched her, brushed up against her, and made sexual comments to her.100 Not every form of unwanted harassment is sexual, however. In one case, a high school football player's upper-class teammates subjected him to an incident of sadistic treatment in­ cluding binding his genitals with adhesive tape. The student reported the incident to school authorities who punished the wrongdoers and forced the team to forfeit a sched­ uled play-off game. The victim was then subjected to nonsexual hostile acts by team members who blamed him for the forfeit. The court ruled that the hostile environment subsequent to the initial incident was not covered by Title IX.101 Similarly, for gay stu­ dents, the ED draws a distinction between nonsexual comments by other students such as "[g]ay students are not welcome at this cafeteria table," which, although offensive, would not violate Title IX and harassment of a sexual nature, which would. ED guidelines state that quid-pro-quo harassment occurs when a school employee explicitly or implicitly conditions a student's participation in an educa­ tion program or activity or bases an educational decision on the student's submission to unwelcome sexual advances, requests sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or physi­ cal conduct of a sexual nature.... Quid pro quo harassment is equally unlawful whether the student resists and suffers the threatened harm or submits and thus avoids the threat­ ened harm.

For example, one court ruled that quid-pro-quo sexual harassment occurred when a teacher allowed a third grade student to copy answers from materials on the teacher's desk while the teacher sexually touched the student.102 When racial or sexual harassment occurs at school, who may be held responsible and what sort of compensation may be awarded? Because Title VI and Title IX only apply to "programs ... receiving federal financial assistance," neither individuals who commit racial or sexual harassment nor their supervisors may be sued directly under these laws.103 Employees who racially or sexually harass students in violation of Title VI or IX (or the Equal Protection Clause104) may be sued and forced to pay money dam­ ages under another federal statute known as Section 1983 if certain conditions are met (see sec. 10.9). 105 Peerharassersmaynotbe sued under Section 1983, but some courts allow Section 1983 suits against principals and other supervisors of either employee or peer harassers. The Sixth Circuit has said that supervisors can only be held liable under Section 1983 if they "at least implicitly authorized, approved or knowingly acqui­ esced" to the harassment or displayed "deliberate indifference."106 The Ninth Circuit has held that "liability is imposed against a supervisory official in his individual capac­ ity for his own culpable action or inaction in the training, supervision, or control of his subordinates, ... for his acquiescence in the [legal] deprivation,... or for conduct that showed reckless or callous indifference to the rights of others."107

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In Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools,108 the Supreme Court held that vic­ tims of gender discrimination under Title IX, including sexual harassment, may sue their school district for money damages. Presumably, the same would hold true for vic­ tims of racial harassment under Title VI. It is not clear whether damages are limited to compensation or whether punitive damages may be awarded.109 In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District,110 the Supreme Court ruled that a school district cannot be held responsible for sexual harassment of a student by an employee unless an official who at a minimum has authority to address the alleged discrimination and to institute corrective measures on the [school's] behalf has actual knowledge of dis­ crimination in the [school's] programs and fails adequately to respond.... [M]oreover, the response must amount to deliberate indifference to discrimination.... The premise, in other words, is an official decision by the [school district] not to remedy the violation.

Applying these principles to the case at hand the Court noted that the student-victim had not reported her sexual intimacy with the teacher to the school principal and that the only warning signs the principal had were complaints from other parents regarding sexually suggestive comments by the teacher in class. When the school did finally learn of the sexual relationship, the teacher was fired and lost his teaching license. Thus, the facts did not prove that the principal or the district had actual knowledge of the discrimination and failed to respond. Based on the principles announced in Gebser, the Fourth Circuit found that a school district was not liable for sexual harassment of a student by a teacher in a case where the principal had only "constructive," that is, inferential knowledge of the harassment, not the required "actual" knowledge (the harassment had been reported to the principal by third parties, but her own investigation had failed to confirm it) and because the principal had "no independent authority to suspend, reassign, or terminate" the teacher. The principal was found personally liable because she had constructive knowledge of the abuse and failed to respond and because of her "desultory efforts at 'monitoring'" the teacher.111 In another case, the Eight Circuit concluded that the Gebser actual-knowledge requirement was not satisfied when the only information school officials had was that a teacher was spending a lot of time with a student, that the student was excessively absent and tardy, and that his grades were falling. 112 Regarding peer harassment, the Supreme Court in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education 113 ruled that a school district can be held liable for student-on-student sexual harassment when four conditions are met. First, the plain­ tiff must establish that the peer sexual harassment was so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it undermined and distracted the plaintiff's educational experience to the point that the plaintiff was denied equal access to the school's re­ sources and opportunities. The Court noted that simple acts of teasing and namecalling by students, even when these comments draw distinctions based on gender, would not create district liability. Nor would a single instance of severe one-on-one peer harassment expose a district to liability. Also, the Court stated that a drop in grades by itself would not be sufficient to prove the severity of the harassment. Sec­ ond, the harassment must occur in a context with regard to which the district has substantial control over both the harasser and the context in which the harassment

SUMMARY

133

occurs; for example, during school hours and on school grounds. Third, the school district must have actual knowledge of the harassment. The Court did not specify, however, who must know about the harassment; arguably it would be sufficient if a single teacher knew. Fourth, there must be proof that the school district was delib­ erately indifferent to the known acts of peer sexual harassment. The district's obli­ gation is to respond in a manner that is not clearly unreasonable. A total failure to respond or a response that exhibited discrimination in the enforcement of the school's rules—for example, protecting girls but not boys or Whites but not Blacks from harassment—are two examples of unreasonable responses. The Court ac­ knowledged it would be reasonable for an institution to refrain from disciplinary action that would itself expose it to constitutional or statutory claims. Based on these principles, the Court reversed the decision of the Eleventh Circuit dismissing the complaint of LaShonda Davis, a fifth grade student who was the victim of a classmate's repeated acts of harassment for five months. Explaining its reason for allowing the case to go to trial, the Court said: The harassment was not only verbal; it included numerous acts of objectively offensive touching, and indeed, G.F. [the harasser] ultimately pleaded guilty to criminal sexual misconduct. Morever, the complaint alleges that there were multiple victims who were sufficiently disturbed by G.F.'s misconduct to seek an audience with the school principal. Further, petitioner [LaShonda's mother] contends that the harassment had a concrete negative effect on her daughter's ability to receive an education. The complaint also sug­ gests that petitioner may be able to show both actual knowledge and deliberate indiffer­ ence on the part of the Board, which made no effort whatsoever either to investigate or to put an end to the harassment.

The Sixth Circuit went a step further in applying the "deliberate indifference" con­ dition, ruling that a school's efforts "to remediate must be improved upon if the first steps are to no avail. When a district knows its first efforts are ineffective it must do more. Repeatedly doing the same thing which does not actually remediate the problem is not enough."114 To satisfy their moral and legal duty to their students and minimize their risk of legal liability, schools should adopt, publish, and abide by formal antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies. ED Title IX guidelines state that schools are required "to adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of sex discrimination complaints, including complaints of sexual harassment and to disseminate a policy against sex discrimination."115 Title VI guidelines specify that "once a [school] has notice of a racially hostile environment, the [school] has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to eliminate it.... In evaluating a [school's] response to a racially hostile environment, [ED] will examine disciplinary policies, grievance poli­ cies, and any applicable anti-harassment policies."116

5.10

SUMMARY

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution prohib­ its the government from treating individuals or groups differently without adequate justification. This prohibition has been the basis of numerous lawsuits attacking segre­

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gation and other forms of discrimination in public schools. The Supreme Court has fashioned three separate tests for deciding equal protection cases: 1. Strict scrutiny. When government admits or a plaintiff successfully demon­ strates that the criterion of classification and differential treatment is race or eth­ nicity, courts employ the strict scrutiny test. This test requires that the government justify its policy of differential treatment by showing that it is necessary to the ac­ complishment of a compelling state purpose. Except regarding certain affirmative action policies, this is a requirement that government can virtually never meet. 2. Substantial relation. When it is admitted or demonstrated by a plaintiff that government is classifying on the basis of gender, courts employ the substantial relation or middle-level test. This test, although not nearly as stringent as strict scrutiny, still places the burden for justifying the policy of differential treatment on the government. Gender-based classifications will be upheld only if the gov­ ernment can demonstrate that they are substantially related to the achievement of an important government purpose. 3. Rational basis. Classifications based on characteristics other than race, ethnicity, or gender (with several minor exceptions not usually relevant to edu­ cation cases) are evaluated using the least stringent test. Rational basis places the burden on the plaintiff to show that differential treatment by the government is wholly unrelated to any legitimate state goal. Under this test, classifications that in any way foster or promote any legitimate goal of the government will be upheld. As a practical matter, the Equal Protection Clause prohibits any policy or practice that intentionally segregates students on the basis of race or ethnicity or intentionally provides a racial or ethnic minority group with an inferior education. A policy or prac­ tice will be viewed as intentionally segregative or otherwise discriminatory if it pur­ posely seeks to separate or otherwise disadvantage a minority group. Thus, any conscious decision by an educational policy maker or practitioner to separate students by race will not pass constitutional muster. Actions may also be viewed as discrimina­ tory if a rational decision maker should have realized that the major result of the action would be to disadvantage or segregate a minority group. However, policies that have an accidental or unforeseeable disadvantageous effect on a particular racial group do not violate the Equal Protection Clause. Beginning in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education, many school districts have been found guilty of intentional racial segregation and discrimination. Federal courts are authorized to order a variety of remedies for de jure segregation, including redraw­ ing of attendance areas, busing, magnet schools, and remedial educational programs. Courts may not, however, transfer pupils into or out of districts that have not been found de jure segregated in order to desegregate adjacent districts. Some formerly seg­ regated districts have fully complied with court-ordered desegregation and been de­ clared unitary, and others continue to be supervised by the courts. The Equal Protection Clause also prohibits educational practices that disfavor ei­ ther gender unless there is very strong justification. Most programs that intentionally

NOTES

135

separate the sexes are prohibited. The major exception is athletics, but there is some uncertainty in the law. In addition to the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibit discrimination in educa­ tion on the basis of race and gender, respectively. These statutes supplement the Con­ stitution in a number of ways, most importantly by providing remedies for discrimination not available under the Equal Protection Clause. Title VI and Title IX also provide a great deal of specificity concerning prohibited discriminatory prac­ tices. Title IX requires equity in school athletic programs. The statutes also define ra­ cial and sexual harassment as impermissible forms of discrimination and require that schools adopt and enforce a program designed to prevent racial and sexual harass­ ment of students by school employees or fellow students. Failure to do so may leave the school, and, in some cases, individual educators vulnerable to lawsuits for mone­ tary damages. Legal issues aside, schools should avoid policies of classification based on race, ethnicity, or gender without strong justification. Except in extraordinary circum­ stances, sound educational practice dictates treating Blacks the same as Whites and males the same as females. Thus, to avoid violating the Equal Protection Clause with regard to race and gender, school officials need only exercise sound educational judg­ ment and common sense. NOTES 1. 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 2. Green v. County Sch. Bd. of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430 (1968). 3. San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973). 4. 100 U.S. 303 (1879). 5. Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886). 6. 163 U.S. 537 (1896). 7. 304 U.S. 144 (1938). 8. 305 U.S. 337 (1938). 9. 339 U.S. 629 (1950). 10. 339 U.S. 637 (1950). 11. 323 U.S. 214 (1944). 12. 335 U.S. 464 (1948). 13. 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 14. 347 U.S. 497 (1954). 15. Gayle v. Browder, 352 U.S. 903 (1956); Holmes v. Atlanta, 350 U.S. 879 (1955); Mayor of Baltimore v. Dawson, 350 U.S. 877 (1955). 16. Keyesv. Sch. Dist. No. 1, Denver, 413 U.S. 189(1973); Washington v. Davis, 426U.S.229(1976). 17. Personnel Adm'r of Mass. v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256 (1979). 18. Arlington Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252 (1977). 19. Keyes v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, Denver, 413 U.S. 189 (1973). 20. Arlington Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252 (1977). 21. David A. Strauss, Discriminatory Intent and the Taming of Brown, 56 U. CHI. L. REV. 935, 957 (1989). 22. 733 F.2d 660 (9th Cir. 1984). 23. Columbus Bd. of Educ. v. Penick, 443 U.S. 449 (1979); Dayton Bd. of Educ. v. Brinkman, 443 U.S. 526 (1979). 24. 678 A.2d 1267 (Conn. 1996). 25. Brown v. Bd. Of Educ., 349 U.S. 294 (1955).

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26. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958); Goss v. Bd. of Educ. of Knoxville, 373 U.S. 683 (1963); Griffin v. Sch. Bd. of Prince Edward County, 377 U.S. 218 (1964). 27. 42 U.S.C. § 2000(d) et seq. 28. 391 U.S. 430 (1968). 29. Alexander v. Holmes County Bd. of Educ., 396 U.S. 19 (1969). 30. 402 U.S. 1 (1971). 31. Keyes v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, Denver, 413 U.S. 189 (1973); Columbus Bd. of Educ. v. Penick, 443 U.S. 449 (1979); Dayton Bd. of Educ. v. Brinkman, 443 U.S. 526 (1979); United States v. Scotland Neck Bd. of Educ., 407 U.S. 484 (1972). 32. 418 U.S. 717 (1974). 33. 433 U.S. 267 (1977). 34. 495 U.S. 33 (1990) and 515 U.S. 70 (1995). 35. Davis v. E. Baton Rouge Parish Sch. Bd., 721 F.2d 1425 (5th Cir. 1983); Morgan v. Kerrigan, 530 F.2d 401 (1st Cir. 1976). 36. 515 U.S. 70 (1995). 37. See Keyes v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, Denver, 413 U.S. 189 (1973); Columbus Bd. of Educ. v. Penick, 443 U.S. 449 (1979); Dayton Bd. of Educ. v. Brinkman, 443 U.S. 526 (1979); United States v. Scotland Neck Bd. of Educ., 407 U.S. 484 (1972). 38. 427 U.S. 424 (1976). 39. 498 U.S. 237 (1991). 40. 503 U.S. 467 (1992). 41. Brown v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 501, 56 F. Supp. 2d 1212 (D. Kan. 1999). 42. Belk v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 269 F.3d 305 (4th Cir. 2001). 43. Coalition to Save Our Children v. Bd. of Educ., 90 F.3d 752 (3d Cir. 1996); Morgan v. Nucci, 831 F.2d 313 (1st Cir. 1987); Calhoun v. Cook, 522 F.2d 717 (5th Cir. 1975); Ross v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 699 F.2d 218 (5th Cir. 1983). 44. Billings v. Madison Metro. Sch. Dist., 259 F.3d 807 (7th Cir. 2001). 45. Larry P. v. Riles, 793 F.2d 969 (9th Cir. 1984). 46. Debra P. v. Turlington, 564 F. Supp. 177 (M.D. Fla. 1983), aff'd, 730 F.2d 1405 (11th Cir. 1984). 47. 376 F. Supp. 1330 (N.D. Tex. 1974). 48. SeealsoLorav. Bd. of Educ. ofN.Y., 456 F. Supp. 1211 (E.D.N.Y. 1978), vacated, 623 F.2d 248 (2d Cir. 1980); Rhyne v. Childs, 359 F. Supp. 1085 (N.D. Fla. 1973), aff'd, 507 F.2d 675 (5th Cir. 1975). 49. Young v. Montgomery County Bd. of Educ., 922 F. Supp. 544 (M.D. Ala. 1996). 50. 123 S. Ct. 2325, reh 'g denied, 124 S. Ct. 35 (2003). 51. 123 S. Ct. 2411 (2003). 52. McLaughlin v. Boston Sch. Comm., 938 F. Supp. 1001 (D. Mass. 1996). 53. Equal Open Enrollment Ass'n v. Akron City Sch. Dist., 937 F. Supp. 700 (N.D. Ohio 1996). 54. Eisenberg ex rel. Eisenberg v. Montgomery County Pub. Schs., 197 F.3d 123 (4th Cir. 1999). 55. Tuttle v. Arlington County Sch. Bd., 195 F.3d 698 (4th Cir. 1999). 56. Hunter ex rel. Brandt v. Regents of Univ. of Cal, 190 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 1999). 57. 411 U.S. 677 (1973). 58. Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976). 59. 532 F.2d 880 (3d Cir. 1976), aff'd by an equally divided Court, 430 U.S. 703 (1977). 60. 458 U.S. 718 (1982). 61. 518 U.S. 515 (1996). 62. 775 F. Supp. 1004 (E.D. Mich. 1991). 63. 570 F. Supp. 1020 (W.D. Mo. 1983). 64. O'Connor v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. 23, 545 F. Supp. 376 (N.D. 111. 1982), and 449 U.S. 1301 (1980). 65. Brenden v. Indep. Sch. Dist. 742,477 F.2d 1292 (8th Cir. 1973); Gilpin v. Kan. State High Sch. Activ­ ities Ass'n, 377 F. Supp. 1233 (D. Kan. 1973). 66. Bucha v. 111. High Sch. Ass'n, 351 F. Supp. 69 (N.D. 111. 1972). 67. Clark v. Ariz. Interscholastic Ass'n, 695 F.2d 1126 (9th Cir. 1982); Petrie v. 111. High Sch. Ass'n, 394 N.E.2d 855 (I11. App. Ct. 1979); but see Gomes v. R.I. and Interscholastic League, 469 F. Supp. 659 (D.R.I.), vacated as moot, 604 F.2d 733 (1st Cir. 1979). 68. Williams v. Sch. Dist. of Bethlehem, 998 F.2d 168 (3d Cir. 1993).

NOTES 69. 70. 71. 72. 73.

137

42 U.S.C. § 2000d. 34 C.F.R. § 1003 (b). 42 U.S.C. § 2000c-6. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-l. Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287 (1985); Guardians Ass'n v. Civil Serv. Comm., 463 U.S. 582 (1983). 74. Compare Franklin v. Gwinnett County Pub. Sch., 503 U.S. 60 (1992). 75. Guardians Ass'n v. Civil Serv. Comm., 463 U.S. 582 (1983). 76. Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275 (2001). 77. See Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. of N.Y. v. Harris, 444 U.S. 130 (1979); see also Elston v. Talladega County Bd. of Ed., 997 F.2d 1394 (11th Cir. 1993); Larry P. v. Riles, 495 F. Supp. 926 (N.D. Cal. 1979), affdin part, 793 F.2d 969 (9th Cir. 1984). 78. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1686. 79. 20 U.S.C. § 1687. 80. Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677 (1979). 81. Franklin v. Gwinnett County Pub. Schs., 503 U.S. 60 (1992). 82. See e.g., Pfeiffer v. Marion Ctr. Area Sch. Dist., 917 F.2d 779 (3d Cir. 1990); Williams v. Sch. Dist. of Bethlehem, 998 F.2d 168 (3d Cir. 1993) (Title IX preempts use of § 1983); contra Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir. 1996); Lillard v. Shelby County Bd. of Educ., 76 F.3d 716 (6th Cir. 1996). 83. Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago, 648 F.2d 1104 (7th Cir. 1981); NAACP v. Medical Ctr. Inc., 657 F.2d 1322 (3d Cir. 1981). 84. Guardians Ass'n v. Civil Serv. Comm., 463 U.S. 582 (1983). 85. 34 C.F.R. § 106.34. 86. 34 C.F.R. § 106.21(b)(2). 87. 34 C.F.R. § 106.31(b)(4). 88. 34 C.F.R. § 106.36. 89. 34 C.F.R. § 106.40. 90. Darrin v. Gould, 540 P.2d 882 (Wash. 1975) (en bane). 91. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep't of Social Serv., 489 U.S. 189 (1989). 92. Naboznyv.Podlesny, 92 F.3d 446 (7th Cir. 1996); see also Munell v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 186F.3dl238 (10th Cir. 1999). 93. Doe v. Claiborne County, 103 F.3d 495 (6th Cir. 1996). 94. 59 Fed. Reg. 11447. 95. 62 Fed. Reg. 12033. 96. Burwell v. Pekin Cmty. High Sch. Dist. 303, 213 F. Supp. 2d 917 (C.D. III. 2002). 97. Seneway v. Canon McMillan Sch. Dist., 969 F. Supp. 325 (W.D. Pa. 1997); see also Oona R.-S. v. Santa Rosa City Sch., 890 F. Supp. 1452 (N.D. Cal. 1995), aff'd, 143 F.3d 473 (9th Cir. 1997). 98. Mary M. v. N. Lawrence Cmty. Sch. Corp., 131 F. 3d 1220 (7th Cir. 1997). 99. Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 503 U.S. 60 (1998). 100. Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Educ., 74 F.3d 1186 (11th Cir. 1996), vacated, 91 F.3d 1418, aff'd, 120 F.3d 1390 (11th Cir. 1997) (en bane), rev'd, 526 U.S. 629 (1999); see also Rowinsky v. Bryan Indep. Sch. Dist., 80 F.3d 1006 (5th Cir. 1996). 101. Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir. 1996). 102. Does v. Covington County Sch. Bd. of Educ., 969 F. Supp. 1264 (M.D. Ala. 1997). 103. Smith v. Metro. Sch. Dist. of Perry Township, 128 F.3d 1014 (7th Cir. 1997). 104. Murrell v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 186 F.3d 1238 (10th Cir. 1999). 105. Oona R.-S. v. Santa Rosa City Sch., 890 F. Supp. 1452 (N.D. Cal. 1995), aff'd, 143 F.3d473 (9th Cir. 1997); but see Does v. Covington County Sch. Bd. of Educ., 930 F. Supp. 554 (M.D. Ala. 1996), and 969 F. Supp. 1264 (M.D. Ala. 1997). 106. Doe v. Claiborne County, 103 F.3d 495 (6th Cir. 1996); see also Doe v. Taylor Indep. Sch. Dist., 15 F.3d 443 (5th Cir. 1994). 107. Larez v. Los Angeles, 946 F.2d 630 (9th Cir. 1991); see also Baynard v. Malone, 268 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. 2001) (en bane). 108. 503 U.S. 69 (1992). 109. Doe v. Oyster River Co-Op Sch. Dist., 992 F. Supp. 467 (D.N.H. 1997). 110. 524 U.S. 274 (1998).

138 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116.

CHAPTER 5: EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY Baynard v. Malone, 268 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. 2001) (en bane). P.H. v. Sch. Dist. of Kan. City, 265 F.3d 653 (8th Cir. 2001). 526 U.S. 629 (1999). Vance v. Spencer County Pub. Sch. Dist., 231 F.3d 253 (6th Cir. 2000).

62 Fed. Reg. 12040.

59 Fed. Reg. 11451.

CHAPTER

6

STUDENTS WITH

SPECIAL NEEDS

The last chapter showed that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits most race- and gender-based classifications by public schools and that classification based on other characteristics may be justified if it is rationally related to legitimate govern­ ment goals. Chapter 6 considers some criteria that do justify differential educa­ tional treatment: various types of disabilities, limited English proficiency, age, and educational ability. Unlike race and gender, these characteristics may be related to an individual's need for and ability to benefit from education, and, to the extent that they are, they may be the basis for determining the educational program that an in­ dividual receives. This does not mean, however, that schools are free to provide whatever education they choose to students who vary with regard to these characteristics. Both the Con­ stitution and extensive federal legislation and regulations demand that even though the programs offered to special-needs students may differ from the norm, they must, nevertheless, satisfy the requirement of equality of educational opportunity for all. In fact, with regard to students with disabilities or limited English proficiency, equality of opportunity may require that a different and perhaps more extensive pro­ gram be offered. All this can get very complex: How much education are children with disabilities entitled to? May disruptive students with disabilities be excluded from school? What kinds of programs satisfy the school's obligation to non-English speaking students? Do exceptionally bright students have a constitutional right to start school early or to skip a grade? This chapter addresses questions like these.

139

140

6.1

CHAPTER 6: STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

In 1970, there were about eight million children with disabilities in the United States. Three million of these children were not receiving an appropriate education and an­ other million were wholly excluded from public education. Exclusion of children with disabilities was legally possible because many states' laws excused those children from compliance with compulsory education laws. State courts generally upheld poli­ cies of excluding children with disabilities from the public schools, sometimes on the grounds that their presence would have a detrimental effect on the education of the other students.1 In the early 1970s, the exclusion of children with disabilities from public schooling became the target of a number of federal lawsuits, most notably Pennsylvania Ass 'nfor Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth2 and Mills v. Board of Education.3 Al­ though the cases differed somewhat, the major findings of both courts were similar: (a) children were excluded from the public schools because they had disabilities, (b) the effect of this policy was wholly to deprive these children of access to a publicly funded education, (c) the government's purpose in excluding them was to save money, (d) ex­ cluding children with disabilities from school was not rationally related to the goal of saving money (or to any other legitimate state goal) because uneducated people (with disabilities or not) were likely to become a much greater financial burden on the state than if they had been educated, and therefore (e) exclusion of children with disabilities from public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause. The opinions concluded by laying down both substantive and procedural requirements. Children with disabilities must be admitted to the public schools and provided adequate or appropriate educa­ tional services suited to their individual needs. Schools must follow certain procedures when they classify students with disabilities, decide on their appropriate educational placements, reclassify, or change placement. The Mills and PARC cases were part of a nationwide campaign that included not only lawsuits but also political efforts to get better educational services for children with disabilities through legislation. This campaign has resulted in three major federal statutes designed to ensure effective education and equitable treatment for children with disabilities: • The Rehabilitation Act of 1973,4 often called "Section 504," "504," or "RHA." • The Americans with Disabilities Act5 of 1990 (ADA). • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act6 (IDEA), originally passed in 1975 and extensively modified and amended since. IDEA was originally called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) and also was known at one time as the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). Together with related state laws and extensive federal and state regulations, these laws provide the legal framework for the education of students with disabilities. The consti­ tutional rights of children with disabilities have not been fully explored by the courts because as a practical matter the statutes seem to satisfactorily address the demands of parents of such children for educational services at public expense.7

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Although the IDEA is the most well known of the statutes regulating the education of students with disabilities, RHA and ADA are significant as well. IDEA is a funding program with requirements that extend only to states that accept funds under the Act. If it were not for the similar requirements imposed by RHA and ADA, states could choose to avoid their IDEA-imposed obligations by declining to accept the funds.8 Ad­ ditionally, as discussed in the next section, the scope of RHA and ADA is in some ways broader than that of IDEA. RHA and ADA extend protection to students and other indi­ viduals who are not covered by IDEA, impose obligations on schools and in situations that IDEA does not reach, and prevent forms of disability-based discrimination be­ yond the scope of IDEA. Nevertheless, as explained in Section 6.3, both as a matter of law and as a practical matter, IDEA is by far the most influential statute in controlling the education of children with disabilities.

6.2

THE REHABILITATION ACT AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

The heart of the RHA is Section 5049: "No otherwise qualified individual with handi­ caps ... shall solely by reason of her or his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or ac­ tivity receiving Federal financial assistance...." The Act applies to all public and pri­ vate schools that receive federal financial assistance and protects not just students with disabilities but any person "who (i) has a physical or mental impairment which sub­ stantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment." Thus, RHA, un­ like IDEA, regulates a school's relationship not only with qualifying students but also with qualifying teachers and other employees (see sec. 7.6). Under certain circumstances, even qualifying parents may be covered. For exam­ ple, the Second Circuit has ruled that the RHA requires a school to provide a sign lan­ guage interpreter at district expense to deaf parents of hearing children at schoolinitiated activities related to the academic or disciplinary aspects of their children's education. The school's obligation, however, does not include providing an interpreter at school extracurricular activities.10 RHA defines "major life activities" to include "caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working." Thus, unlike IDEA, which only covers students who currently need special education, RHA protects children with a wide range of "impairments," those with a history of life-limiting impairments, and even those who are regarded as having such an impair­ ment. For example, students with epilepsy or physical disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are covered by RHA even though some of them may not qualify for special education under IDEA. RHA prohibits not just actions taken with an intent to discriminate but also actions having the unintentional effect of discriminating.11 The educational program requirements of RHA generally parallel those of IDEA but with less detail. Qualifying students must be provided with an individualized edu­ cational program designed to meet their needs as adequately as the program provided

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to other students meets their needs. Both academic andnonacademic activities are sub­ ject to this equivalency requirement. Like IDEA, RHA requires that students with dis­ abilities be thoroughly evaluated and periodically reevaluated, that they be educated to the maximum extent possible with nondisabled peers, and that parents be involved in the development of educational programs for their children. For the most part, for stu­ dents who also qualify under IDEA, compliance with IDEA will usually satisfy the ed­ ucational requirements of RHA. In addition, RHA prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities in the provision of services and materials, requires that school facilities be made accessible to those students, mandates modifications in class­ rooms, "reasonable accommodations" in courses (e.g., teaching techniques, exam pro­ cedures), and the provision of auxiliary aids and devices. Like RHA, the ADA12 covers all persons with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities, those with a record of such impairments, and those who are regarded as having such impairments. The basic mandate of the ADA is that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be ex­ cluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs or activi­ ties of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." The term "qualified individual with a disability" means an individual with a disability who with or without "reasonable modifications" to rules, policies, or practices; the removal of architectural and communication barriers; or the provision of auxiliary aids and ser­ vices meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or partici­ pation in the program. Whereas RHA regulates only entities that receive federal financial assistance, ADA applies to all "public entities" and "places of public accommodation." This includes any public or private business or agency providing goods or services to the public, in­ cluding virtually all public and private schools except private religious schools, which are explicitly excluded. Where there is overlap between the two laws, the requirements of ADA are the same as RHA. Among the five main titles of ADA, Titles II and III are directly relevant to the treat­ ment of students. Title II protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in the provision of services by public agencies such as schools. Title II requires that pub­ lic schools be made accessible to individuals with disabilities such as by modification or removal of "architectural, communication or transportation barriers" or the "provi­ sion of auxiliary aids and services." Title III prohibits discrimination by private enti­ ties that do business with the public. Private schools at all levels, except private religious schools, are specifically included. In general, ADA places the same require­ ments on public school programs as RHA and IDEA, and public school programs that satisfy the requirements of RHA and IDEA also satisfy ADA. Under ADA, discrimination is broadly defined to include: • Using eligibility criteria that screen out individuals with disabilities from goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations. • Failing to make reasonable modifications in policies and practices to assure that individuals with disabilities are afforded goods, services, facilities, privi­ leges, advantages, and accommodations. However, modifications and adjust­ ments are not required if they would fundamentally alter the goods, services,

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facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations provided. Also, the re­ moval of architectural or communication barriers is required only if removal is "readily achievable." • Failing to provide auxiliary aids and services to assure that individuals with dis­ abilities are not excluded from goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations. At the heart of the RHA and the ADA is the requirement that people with disabilities not be treated differently solely by reason of their disability. Regulations prohibit im­ posing a surcharge on students with disabilities for attending after-school programs or on parents with disabilities for making school functions accessible to them such as by provision of a sign language interpreter. A school may not exclude a student from equal services because the student has an association with someone with a known dis­ ability; for example, excluding a child from sports because a sibling is HIV-positive is prohibited. Both the RHA and the ADA require that school facilities be accessible to students and their parents; however, schools need not make every part of a facility accessible as long as their programs and activities when viewed in their entirety are readily accessi­ ble. Also, alterations that would fundamentally alter a program or activity or result in an undue financial and administrative burden need not be undertaken. The regulations implementing ADA list the types of alterations that should be made, including install­ ing ramps, reconfiguring toilet facilities, and providing a reasonable number of wheel­ chair spaces dispersed throughout seating areas. Two central issues, first litigated under RHA but relevant to understanding both laws, are: who counts as a person with disabilities and which persons with disabilities are "otherwise qualified." On the first issue, the Supreme Court has ruled that the law protects people with contagious diseases (e.g., tuberculosis), even if the disease does not incapacitate them, because they are regarded as having an impairment of activity.13 Lower courts have extended coverage to students and teachers with AIDS.14 The Fourth Circuit ruled that a student suffering from depression was covered and that a school excluding her from an extracurricular activity violated ADA.15 On the other hand, the Eighth Circuit ruled that a student who was having some academic difficul­ ties but advancing from grade to grade did not have an impairment that substantially limited the major life activity of learning. And despite the fact that her band instructor had called her "retarded," "stupid," and "dumb," the court concluded that the evidence did not support the claim that she was regarded as having such an impairment.16 The ADA also specifically excludes people who are engaged in the illegal use of drugs from the coverage of either law, but otherwise qualifying individuals who are former users of illegal drugs are not excluded. Students seeking to convince a court that they should be afforded the protection of ADA must demonstrate that they fit into one of the covered categories. The issue of what constitutes an "otherwise qualified" individual was addressed by the Supreme Court in Southeastern Community College v. Davis.17 The case concerned a woman denied admission to a nurse's training program because her hearing disability prevented her from benefiting sufficiently from the program or performing the tasks of the profession. The Court ruled against the woman, saying that an "otherwise qualified"

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person with a disability was "one who is able to meet all of a program's requirements in spite of his handicap," not one "who would be able to meet the requirements of a particu­ lar program in every respect except as to limitations imposed by their handicap." A number of students with disabilities have attempted to rely on RHA and ADA to object to academic or other eligibility requirements for school sports teams; however, courts have usually found that eligibility requirements that serve a valid purpose and apply equally to students with or without disabilities do not violate the law. Both the Sixth and Eighth Circuits have upheld rules setting a maximum age for participation in interscholastic sports. The rules had the effect of excluding some students who be­ cause of their disability were in school beyond the usual graduation age. Nevertheless, the Sixth Circuit said that an exclusion based on age is not an exclusion based on dis­ ability, and that absent their disabilities, the plaintiffs would still have failed to satisfy the age requirement.18 The Eighth Circuit said that age was an essential eligibility re­ quirement designed to promote safety for all participants. Because the plaintiff could not meet the requirement, he was not "otherwise qualified" unless "reasonable accom­ modation" could enable him to meet the requirement. However, waiving the age re­ quirement would not be a "reasonable accommodation," but rather a "fundamental alteration" of the sports program.19 On a related issue, the Sixth Circuit concluded that the ADA w as not violated by a rule that prohibited students from participating in athletics after more than nine semes­ ters of enrollment. The student with a disability in this suit had been enrolled in school for more than the permitted number of semesters but had been academically ineligible for part of the time as a result of his disability. The court found that a waiver of the rule was not required by ADA because it would fundamentally alter interscholastic sports. Furthermore, reasoned the court, alteration of the rule was undesirable from a policy standpoint because it would encourage redshirting—the practice of delaying academic advancement for the sake of athletics.20 In another case, the Seventh Circuit considered the application to a student with a disability of a rule limiting a student's athletic eligibility to the first eight semesters following the student's enrollment in ninth grade. The plaintiff started the ninth grade but then left school because of academic problems related to his learning disability. The court found that waiving the rule was a reasonable accommodation required by ADA. The court reasoned that the rule in question did not serve any academic purpose, that the prospect of participation in athletics had actually inspired the plaintiff to im­ prove his academic performance, and that the rule did "not appear to add anything to the protections provided by the [athletic association's] age limit rule, which generally limits the size, strength and athletic maturity of student athletes."21 On another related issue, in a suit attacking minimum grade point average and credit eligibility require­ ments, the student with a disability lost.22 Students with one eye or one kidney have won suits against schools that sought to exclude them from contact sports.23 Brookhart v. Illinois State Board of Education24 considered the legality under RHA of requiring students with disabilities to pass a minimum competency test (M.C.T.) in order to graduate from high school. Said the court: Plaintiffs in this case have no grounds on which to argue that the contents of the M.C.T. are discriminatory solely because handicapped students who are incapable of attaining a

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level of minimum competency will fail the test. Altering the content of the M.C.T. to ac­ commodate an individual's inability to learn the tested material because of his handicap would be a "substantial modification," as well as a "perversion" of the diploma require­ ment. A student who is unable to learn because of his handicap is surely not an individual who is qualified in spite of his handicap. Thus denial of a diploma because of inability to pass the M.C.T. is not discrimination under the RHA. However, an otherwise qualified student who is unable to disclose the degree of learning he actually possesses because of the test format or environment would be the object of dis­ crimination solely on the basis of his handicap. It is apparent ... that "to discover a blind person's knowledge, a test must be given orally or in braille." ... [RHA] requires adminis­ trative modification to minimize the effects of plaintiffs' handicaps on ... examinations.

Brookhart illustrates well the meaning of "otherwise qualified" and of "reasonable accommodation." To exempt students with disabilities from the requirement of dem­ onstrating the requisite level of knowledge before being awarded a diploma would ne­ gate the essential educational purpose of minimum competency testing. Conversely, to deny a student with a disability the opportunity to demonstrate the requisite knowledge in a modified format; for example, by giving written or signed rather than oral test in­ structions to deaf students, is to discriminate on the basis of disability. Another court invoked the reasonable accommodation principle by saying that a school district had to permit a student with a disability to bring her service dog to school.25 Bercovitch v. Baldwin School, Inc. ,26 involved a severely disruptive sixth-grade stu­ dent at a private school. Having made numerous unsuccessful attempts to accommo­ date and modify the student's behavior, the school now sought, in effect, to expel the student. The child's parents claimed that the expulsion was impermissible under ADA because a psychologist had diagnosed the child as afflicted with ADHD. The parents argued that except for the behaviors arising out of his disability, the child was "other­ wise qualified" to participate in the school's educational program and that the reason­ able accommodation principle required extensive modification of the school's code of conduct as applied to the child. However, the First Circuit disagreed on both counts. The child was not otherwise qualified because he could not meet the school's behav­ ioral requirements even with reasonable accommodations. The requested modifica­ tion of the code of conduct amounted to a "significant alteration of a fundamental requirement of the school." ADA did not require "a school to suspend its normal codes of conduct in order to tolerate disruptive and disrespectful conduct when that behavior impaired the educational experience of other students and significantly taxed the re­ sources of the faculty and other students." School districts are required to establish and publicize grievance procedures to deal with alleged violations of RHA. Individuals may also file a grievance against a school district with the Department of Education (ED) within 180 days of an allegedly dis­ criminatory action. ED will investigate the allegation, and if a violation is found, the district must correct the violation or risk loss of all federal funds. Individuals can also sue for compensatory monetary damages for a violation of RHA27 or ADA but proba­ bly not for punitive damages.28 A successful complainant can also be awarded attorney's fees under either law. ADA also prohibits retaliation, interference, coercion, or intimidation against individuals claiming rights under the law, assisting in investigat­ ing violations, or testifying in proceedings brought under the law.

146

6.3

CHAPTER 6: STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

Congress enacted the first version of the IDEA29 with the RHA already in force to fur­ ther define the obligations of schools to children with disabilities and to help meet part of the cost of educating them. IDEA is a grant program providing money to states that choose to participate—all states now do—to help support the education of children with disabilities. To be eligible for federal funds under the IDEA, a state must develop a plan for providing all children with disabilities a "free, appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs." The plan must include a system for allocating funding to local school districts and must comply with the program requirements as spelled out in the law and imple­ menting regulations. In turn, each local school district must submit an application to the state indicating how it will comply with IDEA requirements. The basic mandate of the IDEA is that all children with disabilities must receive a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE means "special education and re­ lated services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direc­ tion without charge and are provided in conformity with the child's individual education plan (IEP)." The FAPE requirement extends to children with disabilities who have chosen to attend public schools, religious or other private schools, charter schools, or home schools and even to children with disabilities who have been sus­ pended or expelled from school. IDEA is primarily a children's rights law: Children with disabilities must receive a free, appropriate education whether or not their parents want them to. IDEA also gives parents of children with disabilities the right to partici­ pate in the making of decisions regarding their children and to examine all records con­ cerning their children. Identification, Evaluation, and Classification

IDEA defines "child with disability" as one who meets two conditions: "(i) with men­ tal retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impair­ ments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, ... (ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services." IDEA also permits school districts to service students ages three to nine who are experiencing physical, cognitive, communicative, social, emotional, or adaptive developmental de­ lays and who by reason thereof need special education and related services. The statute provides an extended definition of specific learning disability, and the implementing regulations provide additional definitions of mental retardation, other health impaired, autism, and traumatic brain injury. States have a certain amount of latitude in applying these definitions in accordance with their own statutes and regulations, so IDEA-eligibility criteria may vary from state to state.30 IDEA requires state and local education agencies to locate, identify, and evaluate students with disabilities, even those who have never enrolled in public school. The evaluation should be completed early enough so that an IEP can be in place by the be­ ginning of the school year. If a child with a possible or apparent disability is applying for initial admission to a public school, the child—with parental consent—will usually be placed in the regular public school program until the evaluation is complete. Before

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a child is evaluated, written notice explaining the proposed evaluation and the reasons for it must be given to the child's parent. The notice must be in the parent's native lan­ guage or, if the parent does not have a written language, it must be communicated orally. Parents must also be given a copy of their procedural safeguards, such as their right to request a hearing if they disagree with the results of the evaluation. Parents also have a right to examine "all records relating to" the child. The school district must solicit parental consent for the evaluation. If the parents refuse consent, the parents may agree to enter into mediation with the district or the district may request an impartial hearing in order to proceed with the evaluation. Ei­ ther the district or the parents may request review of the hearing officer's decision by the state's education agency and ultimately by a court. Similar procedures apply if parents initiate a request for an evaluation but the school district refuses. The district must provide the parents with written notice of the basis of their decision not to eval­ uate. Parents may then request mediation or a hearing followed by state agency and judicial review. The evaluation must be in the child's native language, free of racial bias, conducted by a multidisciplinary team, and designed to assess a wide range of skills including sensory, manual, and verbal. Only validated tests tailored to assess specific areas of educational need may be used. No general IQ test nor any "single procedure is to be the sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational program." An additional set of requirements establishes the criteria for determining the existence of a specific learning disability. Overall, the evaluation must be designed to assess the child's strengths as well as weaknesses. At the conclusion of the evaluation, "a team of qualified professionals and the parent of the child" are to determine if the child has disabilities. The team may not decide that the child has disabilities "if the determinant factor ... is lack of instruc­ tion in reading or math or limited English proficiency." Reevaluation of any child found to have disabilities must take place at least every three years or more frequently if requested by the child's parents. Parents also have a right to obtain an independent educational evaluation. The school district must reimburse the parents for the inde­ pendent evaluation if an impartial hearing finds the school's evaluation was incorrect. Despite all the procedures and safeguards, schools and parents may disagree as to whether a child should be classified as having a disability under the IDEA criteria. Yankton School District v. Schramm31 concerned a high school student, Tracy, with ce­ rebral palsy. Until she reached high school, Tracy had been classified as having disabilities and eligible for IDEA services. Tracy' s last IEP, written for her ninth grade year, specified "adaptive physical education" as Tracy's only "special education." The rest of her program consisted of participation in regular course work with nondisabled peers. Because Tracy was succeeding in all her regular course work and no additional physical education was required for graduation, the district reasoned that Tracy was no longer in need of special education and therefore no longer had disabilities within the meaning of IDEA. This meant that she was not eligible for the transitional services mandated by the IDEA to prepare students with disabilities for life after high school. However, the hearing officer, the district court, and ultimately, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals all disagreed. The court pointed out that although it was true that Tracy's last IEP specified adaptive physical education as her only "special educa­

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tion," it was not true that this was the only service she had been receiving because of her disability. The school had also provided her with shortened writing assignments, assistance in passing from class to class, and a variety of other accommodations that the court characterized as special education and related services. Thus, the district's own actions indicated that Tracy had a disability within the meaning of the IDEA. Even when they agree that a child has a disability, schools and parents may disagree as to the proper classification of the disability. In Gregory K. v. Longview School District,32 the school's evaluation concluded that Gregory was mildly mentally retarded, but his parents argued that he had learning disabilities. To support their view, the parents pre­ sented an independent evaluation by a psychologist indicating that Gregory suffered from dyslexia. To settle the issue, the court turned to the definitions in the IDEA regula­ tions for the terms "specific learning disabilities" and "mental retardation." The court noted that one of the necessary criteria for classification as having a learning disability was "near average, average or above average intellectual ability." Then, looking at the results of various IQ tests, the court concluded that Gregory's intellectual functioning was too low to meet the definition of having learning disabilities. Therefore, the school district's classification of Gregory as mentally retarded was correct. The Individualized Educational Program Once it has been determined that a child qualifies for services under IDEA, an IEP must be developed. The process used to develop the IEP must consist of one or more meet­ ings attended by the child's teacher, another public school representative qualified to supervise the provision of special education, the child's parents, and, where appropri­ ate, the child. The district must take all necessary steps to ensure that the parents are able to attend the IEP meetings and understand the evaluation results, the proposed IEP, and anything else discussed at the meetings. If the child has been evaluated for the first time, a member of the evaluation team or someone else familiar with the proce­ dures and results of the evaluation must also be present. If a public school has placed or proposes to place a child in a private school or facility, a representative of the private fa­ cility must also attend. In developing the IEP, the team must consider any special cir­ cumstances that may be affecting the child's educational performance such as behavioral problems or limited English proficiency. The IEP must be reviewed by the same process at least once a year and early enough so that the new IEP can be in force at the beginning of the next school year. The review should specifically address any lack of expected progress. If parents are dissatisfied with the outcome of the IEP process, they may seek review from an impartial hearing officer, designated state agency, and ultimately from a court. Failure of a school to provide parents with a meaningful opportunity to participate in the formulation of a student's IEP or to follow the other procedural requirements of IEP formulation may persuade a court to reject the IEP.33 However, parents who have been properly included in the process are unlikely to succeed with a claim that they did not understand what they had agreed to.34 An IEP is a written statement that includes the child's present level of educational performance; annual goals and short-term instructional objectives; the special educa­ tion and related services to be provided; any assistive technology to be provided; the

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extent to which the student will participate in the school' s general program for students without disabilities; the dates for initiation and duration of services; criteria, proce­ dures, and schedules for evaluating whether the objectives are being achieved; and a plan for informing the parents of the child's progress. IDEA regulations define special education as "specially designed instruction" to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including adapting "content, methodology or delivery of instruction." Special education must include the same range of courses offered to students with­ out disabilities, including art, music, homemaking, vocational education, and physical education as well as extracurricular activities and nonacademic activities and services, such as lunch and recess as appropriate. Related services may include transportation, special equipment such as hearing aids and computers, and a variety of other forms of assistance necessary to make it possible for the child to benefit from special education. The IEP may also include behavioral interventions if necessary, and beginning no later than age fourteen, transition services. Behavioral interventions are programs designed to deal with conduct that impedes the child's learning or that of others. Transition ser­ vices are programs designed to ease movement from school to post-school activities including work, higher education, and vocational training. Providing an "Appropriate" Education An IEP must specify a program of special education consistent with the child's evalua­ tion. The program must meet the basic IDEA requirement of providing a free, appro­ priate public education. The program must be consistent with a myriad of applicable federal and state regulations that implement and supplement the IDEA. Yet, even with all these requirements and guidelines, the issue of what constitutes an appropriate edu­ cation for a particular child is often difficult to resolve. Not surprisingly, given the real­ ities of educational budgets, the imprecision of instructional methodologies, and the strong emotions involved, the program requested by parents sometimes does not coin­ cide with the one offered by the school. In these instances, IDEA and the implementing regulations do not always provide a clear solution. Courts may be called upon to re­ solve the issue of whether a particular program or service is required under the IDEA or of whether a child's overall program of special education satisfies the law. The Rowley Case. The Supreme Court provided a framework for deciding these issues in Board of Education of Hendrik Hudson Central School District v. Rowley.35 The case concerned Amy Rowley, a deaf student with above average intelligence, min­ imum residual hearing, and an excellent ability to read lips. Following its evaluation, the school district placed Amy in a regular classroom and provided her with a hearing aid and the part-time services of a speech therapist and specially trained tutor. After a brief trial period during kindergarten, the district concluded that Amy did not need the full-time services of a sign language interpreter. Amy's parents disagreed and sued the school. The district court that first heard the case ruled in favor of the parents. The court found that Amy had adjusted well to school and that she was "performing better than the average child in her class and advancing easily from grade to grade." Nevertheless, the court pointed out that Amy did not understand a significant amount of what was

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said in class, and, given her intelligence, she was not "learning as much or performing as well academically as she would without her handicap." Because of this "shortfall" in Amy's learning, the court concluded that the school was not living up to its responsi­ bility under the law. The court ruled that the law required that Amy be given "an oppor­ tunity to achieve full potential commensurate with the opportunity provided to other children." In the lower court's view, it was the courts' job to make certain the program selected by a school for a child with a disability is the one most likely to maximize the child's potential. In reversing the lower court's decision and ruling in favor of the school, the Su­ preme Court offered a different interpretation of both the meaning of an "appropriate" education and the role of the courts in ensuring that the requirements of the IDEA are met. The Court noted that Congress' purpose in adopting legislation providing funds for the education of children with disabilities was to provide a "basic floor of opportu­ nity" consisting of "specialized instruction and related services which are individu­ ally designed to provide educational benefit to the handicapped child." In other words, the law does not require that an IEP be designed to maximize the potential of a child with a disability or even to confer educational benefit commensurate with the benefit provided other children, but only to confer "some educational benefit upon the handi­ capped child." In the case of a child like Amy, who was receiving "specialized instruc­ tion and related services" and "performing above average in the regular classrooms of the public school," it was clear to the Court that the requirement of some educational benefit was being met. The ruling in the Rowley case was in keeping with the Court's view that "[t]he pri­ mary responsibility for formulating the education to be accorded a handicapped child, and for choosing the educational method most suitable to the child's needs, was left by the [IDEA] to state and local educational agencies in cooperation with the parents or guardian of the child." Therefore, courts, including the Supreme Court, "must be care­ ful to avoid imposing their view of preferable educational methods" upon the schools. This is one of a number of instances in which the Supreme Court has cautioned all courts not to substitute their judgment for that of professional educators and policy makers. Applying Rowley. Rowley provides a basis for deciding many disputes over what constitutes an appropriate education. Rowley makes it clear that IDEA does not require that students with disabilities be provided with all services that might benefit them or with any and all services that their parents might request. Subsequent cases have inter­ preted Rowley to mean that an IEP is appropriate if the program confers a "meaningful benefit" or if the child receives more than "barely minimal benefits" from the program.36 The school district bears the burden of showing that its program is beneficial. The Third Circuit has said that a program confers the required meaningful benefit if the program is likely to produce some educational progress, not "regression or trivial ... advancement."37 The Third Circuit has also said that a child's "untapped potential" may be one factor in assessing whether an appropriate education is being provided.38 In Rowley, the Supreme Court viewed Amy Rowley's record of academic achievement as evidence of meaningful benefit. In other cases, courts may rely on the testimony of teachers and other professionals to determine whether educational progress is occurring.39

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Rowley sets forth minimum standards for determining what constitutes an appropri­ ate education for a student with a disability. Some states' statutes and regulations pre­ scribe a higher standard than required under federal law. Both federal and state courts will hold schools in these states to the higher standard.40 The No Child Left Behind Act may also have the effect of requiring higher academic standards for students with dis­ abilities than Rowley (see sec. 2.7). Defining appropriate education as the provision of a meaningful opportunity to ben­ efit raises the question of whether there are children with disabilities for whom no ap­ propriate education is possible. Are there children with disabilities so severe that no educational program is likely to benefit them? If so, does the IDEA permit schools to decline to provide services to these children? The First Circuit considered these issues in Timothy W. v. Rochester School District 4 1 A lower court had ruled that Timothy, a "severely retarded and multiply handicapped child," was not eligible for services under the IDEA because he could not benefit from special education. Plaintiff's ex­ perts argued that despite the severity of his disability, Timothy might benefit from cer­ tain types of stimulation, therapy, and training and that under IDEA, the district was required to provide these services. Finding in favor of Timothy, the First Circuit stated its conclusions as follows: The statutory language of the Act [IDEA], its legislative history, and the case law con­ struing it, mandate that all handicapped children, regardless of the severity of their handi­ cap, are entitled to a public education. The district court erred in requiring a benefit/eligibility test as a prerequisite to implicating the Act. School districts cannot avoid the provisions of the Act by returning to the practices that were widespread prior to the Act's passage, and which indeed were the impetus for the Act's passage, of unilater­ ally excluding certain handicapped children from a public education on the ground that they are uneducable. The law explicitly recognizes that education for the severely handicapped is to be broadly defined, to include not only traditional academic skills, but also basic functional life skills, and that educational methodologies in these areas are not static, but are constantly evolving and improving. It is the school district's responsibility to avail itself of these new approaches in providing an education program geared to each child's individual needs. The only question for the school district to determine in conjunction with the child's parents, is what constitutes an appropriate individualized education program (IEP) for the handicapped child. We emphasize that the phrase "appropriate individual­ ized education program" cannot be interpreted, as the school district has done, to mean "no educational program." ...

Thus, the IDEA does not recognize the existence of children who have severe learning disabilities to benefit from some form of education broadly defined. In Rowley, the Court permitted the school to avoid incurring an expense that would have provided additional educational benefit because the program the district did pro­ vide met the requirements of the law. Other cases have cited Rowley in refusing to order services that promised no additional educational benefit.42 In general, it is per­ missible for a school to choose a less costly program over a more costly program prom­ ising greater benefit as long as the less costly program meets the Rowley standard.43 However, districts may be required to provide very costly services such as residential placement or a full-time specialized tutor if the services are necessary to provide the

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student with a meaningful opportunity for educational benefit.44 Thus, the Supreme Court ruled in Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F.45 that a school must provide full-time "one-on-one nursing services" to a quadriplegic student be­ cause without the services the student could not attend school. The Court rejected the school's claim that the law did not require the provision of such an expensive service. Related Services The main issue in the Garret F. case was whether the requested nursing service was a related service within the meaning of IDEA. IDEA defines related services to include: transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (in­ cluding speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for di­ agnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disabil­ ity to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children.

Related services may include assistive technology devices and assistive technology services. The regulations define an assistive technology device as a piece of equip­ ment or product used "to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of [children] with disabilities;" for example, a hearing aid or computer. An assistive technology service is a service that assists a child in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology, such as training a child with a disability in the use of a com­ puter. Related services is a very broad concept encompassing almost anything neces­ sary to make it possible for a child to benefit from special education. The Supreme Court provided the framework for deciding cases like Garret F. in Irving Independent School District v. Tatro.46 The issue was whether a school was re­ quired to provide a student with clean intermittent catheterization (CIC), "a procedure involving the insertion of a catheter into the urethra to drain the bladder." In order to decide the case, the Court offered three guidelines for determining whether a school is obligated to provide "services that relate to both the health and education needs of handicapped students." First, such services must be provided only to children who re­ quire special education. Second, services must be provided only if they are necessary to permit the child to benefit from special education. Thus, "if a particular medication or treatment may be administered to a handicapped child other than during the school day, a school is not required to provide nursing services to administer it." Third, ser­ vices must be provided only if they may be performed by a nurse or other qualified per­ son but are not required if they must be performed by a doctor. Even services that require a doctor's prescription or order must be provided if the doctor's actual pres­ ence is not necessary and the other guidelines are met. Applying these guidelines to Tatro, the Court determined that the school was obligated to provide CIC. The student required special education, could not attend school without the service, and CIC could be performed by a nurse or trained layperson.

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The same reasoning led to the conclusion that the very expensive nursing services requested in Garret F. were also required by IDEA. That Garret needed continuous monitoring and frequent interventions by a person with a significant level of medical training and skill did not release the district from its obligation to provide the services necessary to allow Garret to benefit from school. However, supportive medical ser­ vices that require a doctor's presence, because they are beyond the capabilities of a trained nurse, need not be provided.47 IDEA regulations do require that medical ser­ vices for diagnosis and evaluation be provided even though they require a licensed physician if the services are necessary "to determine a child's medically related dis­ ability that results in the child's need for special education.... " The courts have split on the issue of whether psychotherapy is an excluded medical service or a supportive psychological service.48 In Butler v. Evans,49 the Seventh Circuit ruled that parents were not entitled to reim­ bursement for the time their daughter stayed in a psychiatric hospital where she re­ ceived medication, psychotherapy, and educational services. The child, Niki, had been diagnosed as suffering from a "mental disorder needing long-term education, struc­ tural, locked residential protective placement." The court concluded that Niki's situa­ tion was different from Garret's: Niki's hospitalization was not an attempt to give her meaningful access to public educa­ tion or to address her special educational needs within her regular school environment. This is not a case in which the disabled student needed medical assistance to remain in a regular school; Niki was committed to a psychiatric hospital. Niki might have continued to receive school assignments and some tutoring while hospitalized, but education was not the purpose of her hospitalization. Unlike in-school nursing in [Garret F.], Niki's in­ patient medical care was necessary in itself and was not a special accommodation made necessary only to allow her to attend school or receive education.

Like any related service, transportation must be provided only if and to the extent that it is necessary to permit a child with a disability to benefit from education.50 In one case, a deaf child capable of using the same transportation services as hearing children was denied publicly supported transportation to a private school.51 However, in an­ other case, transportation was a required related service for a child who needed suctioning of his tracheostomy tube and repositioning of his wheelchair during transit.52 Another court required the district to transport a student with a disability between the public school where she received some special education services and her paro­ chial school and ruled that the requirement did not violate the Establishment Clause.53 Least Restrictive Environment and the Issue of Placement

IDEA demands that the FAPE offered to a child with a disability meet the requirement of least restrictive environment (LRE), also known as mainstreaming: "[T]o the maxi­ mum extent appropriate" the child must be educated with children who are not disabled and special classes and schools and institutionalization should be used only "when the nature or severity of the [disability] is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily." The child must be placed "as close as possible" to home. In order to meet these requirements,

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school districts must maintain a continuum of possible alternative placements includ­ ing general education classrooms, special classes, resource rooms, special schools, home instruction, and institutionalization. IDEA requires that the IEP include an "ex­ planation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled students in the regular class ...." Some schools have adopted a policy of "inclusion" or "full inclusion" meaning that all or most children with disabilities are educated in regular education classrooms all or most of the time. However, IDEA does not mandate inclusion and in fact requires special placement if the regular classroom cannot provide an appropriate education. Disputes between parents and schools over the issue of LRE are common. Some­ times, the school advocates special placement, while parents favor education in the regular classroom, and sometimes the positions are reversed. The LRE requirement creates a presumption in favor of the regular classroom. The presumption can be rebut­ ted by a showing that education in the regular classroom offers no meaningful educa­ tional benefit for a particular student or that a student with disabilities is so disruptive that the education of other students would be significantly impaired. More controver­ sial are cases in which both approaches offer educational benefit but one approach of­ fers significantly greater benefits, or when one approach offers greater benefit but at significantly greater cost. Another common problem is how to balance the potentially greater academic benefits of out-of-class placement with the potentially greater social benefits of mainstreaming. Many courts have considered this issue with somewhat varying results.54 The Ninth Circuit has adopted a balancing test encompassing four factors: 1. The educational benefits available in a general education classroom with supple­ mentary aids and services as compared to the benefits available in a more restric­ tive environment. 2. The nonacademic benefits of the general classroom compared to the more restric­ tive environment. 3. The effect of the presence of the student with a disability on the teacher and other students in the general classroom. 4. The cost of placement in the general education classroom (which may be either higher or lower than the more restrictive placement). The district bears the burden of proving the appropriateness of its preferred placement in light of these four factors.55 The Fourth Circuit has said that mainstreaming is not re­ quired when there are no educational benefits to be realized from placement in a gen­ eral class, any marginal benefits from placement in a general class would be significantly outweighed by the benefits of a more restrictive placement, or the student would be too disruptive a force in the general class. The court noted that under IDEA, social benefits are subordinate to academic achievement.56 Residential Placements

Among the most controversial placement decisions are those that involve the question of whether or not to place a child in a residential facility. Residential placements are

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both the most restrictive and usually the most expensive option. Nevertheless, IDEA regulations specify that "[i]f placement in a ... residential program is necessary to pro­ vide special education and related services to a child with a disability, the program, in­ cluding nonmedical care and room and board, must be at no cost to the parents of the child."57 One court approached the issue of whether residential placement was required for a child with severe physical and mental disabilities by asking whether "full-time placement may be considered necessary for educational purposes, or whether the resi­ dential placement is a response to medical, social, or emotional problems." If institu­ tionalization was the only way a child could receive educational benefits, even if the placement was also needed to provide noneducational services, then the full cost of the residential placement had to be paid for by the state or local school district. Residential placement was ordered for this child because the child could not be educated without close full-time supervision.58 In cases of emotionally disturbed children requesting residential placement, the courts consider whether the placement is necessary to meet educational needs, whether the facil­ ity is a hospital or an accredited educational facility, whether the program provided is pre­ scribed by physicians or educators, the intensity of the program, and the cost as compared to nonresidential educational programs.59 Even when a major goal of residential place­ ment is training in basic life skills, such as using a fork, getting dressed, and using the toi­ let, courts have required schools to pay for the placement unless an appropriate education could be provided in a nonresidential setting.60 The issue, said the Third Circuit, is whether "full-time placement may be considered necessary for educational purposes, or whether the residential placement is a response to medical, social or emotional problems." If the residential placement is "part and parcel of ... specially designed instruction ... to meet the unique needs of a handicapped child," the school must pay for it.61 Using this approach, the Seventh Circuit concluded that a school district did not have to reimburse parents for the costs of placing a disruptive child with a growing criminal record in a boarding school that specialized in dealing with such children. Confinement in the boarding school, said the court, was not educationally necessary but primarily designed to keep him out of jail. 62 The Sixth Circuit has said that cost may be considered only when comparing two op­ tions that both meet the Rowley standard, but not if a particular program or service is necessary to assure the child a free, appropriate education. Thus, in one case, the court ordered a residential placement that in 1984 cost $88,000 per year.63 Even year-round placements at public expense will be ordered if necessary to yield educational benefits.64 However, IDEA does not require a state or local school district to pay for residen­ tial placements undertaken for wholly noneducational purposes; for example, place­ ment of a comatose child in a hospital.65 After a child has been placed in a residential facility, whether public or private, the child's home school district continues to be re­ sponsible for monitoring compliance with the IEP and for reevaluation. Students with Disabilities and Private Schools If a private school student qualifies for services under IDEA, the public school dis­ trict may at its option either make the appropriate special education available at pub­ lic school or if permitted by state law, pay for the services in the private school.66 The

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services provided to students with disabilities in private schools must be comparable in quality to the services provided in the public school. States may deem a home school an IDEA-qualifying private school. 67 If a school district makes a FAPE avail­ able to a child with a disability in a public school, but the child's parents elect to place the child in a private school, the district does not have to pay the child's tuition or for the special costs associated with the child's disability.68 If, however, a private facility is necessary in order to provide an appropriate education, the district must pay the cost of the child's education. If parents place their child with a disability in private school because they do not believe the public school's proposed placement is appro­ priate, and the parents' position is ultimately upheld by a hearing officer or court, the public school must reimburse the parents for the private school tuition and related costs such as transportation.69 The Supreme Court has ruled that the provision of a signer to a deaf student attend­ ing a parochial school does not violate the Establishment Clause.70 Likewise, it is prob­ ably permissible for public schools to provide any related service specified by a parochial school student's IEP.71 Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether it would be per­ missible for a public school district to pay a child's religious school tuition, even if the school was specially equipped to provide the child with an appropriate education. Pub­ lic schools are responsible for monitoring and reevaluating students with disabilities placed in private schools. Change of Placement and Discipline of Students with Disabilities The question of what constitutes a "change of placement" for a student with a disability has been considered by a number of courts and several different definitions have re­ sulted. The Second Circuit said that a change of placement occurs when there is a change in the "general educational program in which the child is enrolled, rather than mere variations in the program itself." Thus, in Concerned Parents v. New York City Board of Education,72 the court ruled there was no change of placement when, after one school closed, the student was transferred to a similar but less innovative program. The Sixth Circuit said a change of placement occurs when a modified educational program "is not comparable to the plan set forth in the original IEP."73 The Third Circuit said the question "has to be whether the decision is likely to affect in some significant way the child's learning experience." Thus, the court said a change in how the child was trans­ ported to school was not a change of placement.74 However change of placement is defined, IDEA requires parental notification be­ fore a change of placement can occur. Parents who object to a proposed change of placement may agree to mediation or demand an impartial hearing and invoke the stay-put requirement. The stay-put requirement is designed to maintain the status quo during the impartial hearing and any subsequent appeals. Unless both the school and the parents agree, the child must be left in the present educational placement even if one party believes that it is not an "appropriate" placement under the law. Whether the present placement is appropriate is often the subject of the dispute under consider­ ation. If either party wants to temporarily change the present placement before the ap­ peal process is over, that party must go to court to effect the change.75 The public

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school district must bear the cost of funding the present placement pending the out­ come of the appeal process even if the present placement is in a private setting.76 Sometimes determining the present placement is not difficult. If the child is in a school or program because of an IEP, by an agreement between the parents and school, because of an order of a court, or if this was the placement of the child prior to the first IDEA evaluation and placement, this is the present placement. However, sometimes in the midst of a dispute with school officials, parents unilaterally move the child to a pri­ vate school. The question then arises whether the private school placement is the pres­ ent placement pending final resolution of the dispute. It may be if a court concludes that the parents had justification to make the unilateral shift—if, for example, the school delayed unduly in making an IEP proposal.77 Also, if it is later determined that the public school placement was not appropriate, the parents are entitled to reimburse­ ment of the cost of the private school. To be eligible for reimbursement, parents must notify the district in a timely manner of the private school placement and their reason for moving the child. If a child with an IEP moves with his parents from one state to another, must the new state implement the IEP of the first state? This question was raised in Michael C. v. Radnor Township School District,78 a Third Circuit case in which the plaintiff claimed that the stay-put requirement mandated implementation of the original IEP. Michael's IEP had placed him in a residential school near where his family formerly lived. He ar­ gued that he should be placed in a comparable residential school in his family's new state pending the outcome of proceedings to decide what his new IEP would be. The court rejected this argument saying that it did not believe Congress intended the stay-put provision to impose a requirement on states to implement an IEP established in another state without considering how consistent that IEP was with their own laws and policies. Sometimes a school wishes to modify an IEP for disciplinary reasons. Discipline of children with disabilities raises many issues including whether various forms of disci­ pline constitute a "change of placement," whether a child may be excluded from school for disciplinary reasons, what procedures must be followed in disciplining a child with a disability, where the child is to "stay-put" pending disciplinary proceedings, and whether exceptions to the usual requirements may be made if a disruptive child is a threat to others. Because these issues created a great deal of controversy and litigation under earlier versions of the IDEA,79 one of the goals of the 1997 revisions of the IDEA was to clar­ ify the rules concerning the discipline of students with disabilities. The law attempts to strike a balance between the basic IDEA principle that all students with disabilities are entitled to a FAPE and the need for schools to maintain order and safety. At this writ­ ing, Congress is once again in the process of reauthorizing the IDEA, and it is possible that some of the rules regarding the discipline of students with disabilities may again be modified. The rules apply both to students with lEPs and to children not yet declared eligible for special education if the school district "had knowledge ... that the child was a child with a disability before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action oc­ curred." A school district is deemed to have knowledge of a child's disability if a par­ ent (in writing) or a teacher has expressed concern to district officials that a child might

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have a disability, if a parent has requested an evaluation of a child for a possible dis­ ability, or if the behavior or performance of a child demonstrates the possibility of a disability. For example, a school district was deemed to have knowledge that a student had a disability in a case where the student had failed all of her classes the previous year and the student's health record contained a notation that she was taking medication for attention deficit disorder.80 If a district has no basis for knowing that a child has a disability or if a district has al­ ready conducted an evaluation and found the child not to have a disability, it may disci­ pline the child in the same way as any other child. If an initial request for evaluation is made while the child is being disciplined, the evaluation must be conducted in an expe­ dited manner with the child remaining in the placement determined by school authori­ ties. If the evaluation finds the child to have a disability, the district may not discipline the child in a manner that deprives the child of a FAPE. For children who already have an IEP or who the district knows to have a disability, any lawful form of discipline that is not a change of placement may be employed. These may include verbal reprimands, denial of privileges, and detentions of reason­ able duration. Whether corporal punishment of children with disabilities may be em­ ployed in places where it is otherwise allowed is an unresolved issue. It is also permissible to relocate a misbehaving child with an IEP to what the law calls an "in­ terim alternative educational setting" (IAES), presumably including a more restrictive placement or in-school suspension for ten days or less or to suspend the student for ten days or less without employing change of placement procedures. Removal of a child with a disability from the child's current educational placement is deemed a change of placement if the removal is for more than ten consecutive school days or the "child is subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern because they cumulate to more than ten school days in a school year, and because of factors such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the child is removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another." If a school district wishes to discipline a child with a disability in a manner that constitutes a change of placement, the IEP team must first undertake a "functional behavioral assessment" of the child including an in­ quiry to determine if the student's misbehavior was a "manifestation of the disability." The manifestation inquiry may be undertaken while the child is being disciplined in a manner that does not constitute a change of placement such as a suspension often days or less. The IEP team's findings are subject to review by an impartial hearing officer at parental request. Misbehavior is a manifestation of a student's disability if the disabil­ ity impairs the student's ability to understand the impact or consequences of the behav­ ior or impairs the student's ability to control the behavior. Misbehavior may also be deemed a manifestation of a student's disability if the student's IEP was not being fol­ lowed or was inappropriate. If the behavior was a manifestation of the disability, further disciplinary procedures involving relocation or exclusion from school require standard change of placement procedures including parental notification, IEP team deliberations, and possibly an impartial hearing and court review. If, however, a child with a disability brings a weapon to school or possesses or sells illegal drugs at school, the IEP team may place the student in an IAES for up to forty-five days during the manifestation determination and change of placement procedures. An impartial hearing officer can also place a stu­

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dent with a disability in an IAES if the school convinces the hearing officer that it is dangerous for the student to remain in the present placement. The IAES must permit the child to continue to participate in the general curriculum and to receive the services specified in the IEP. Within ten days of the IAES placement, the school must perform a functional behavioral assessment and develop a behavioral intervention plan as part of the student's IEP. If a student's misbehavior is found not to be a manifestation of the student's disabil­ ity, the student may be subjected to the same disciplinary procedures, including longterm suspension, as students without disabilities. However, students with disabilities must always continue to receive a FAPE. This means that school districts must provide home tutors or other alternative arrangements that offer a meaningful opportunity for educational benefit to students with disabilities excluded from school for any reason. In-school suspensions must also provide a meaningful opportunity to benefit. Dispute Resolution under IDEA

Any substantive or procedural dispute between parents and school over any aspect of the IDEA is subject to mediation if both sides agree to mediation. Mediation must be confidential, at no cost to the parents, and conducted by a knowledgeable individual chosen from a state-maintained list. If mediation is not desired or fails to produce an agreement, either side can request review, first by an impartial hearing officer, then by a designated state agency, and fi­ nally by a court. The law does not specify the level of expertise that the hearing officer must possess, but "impartial" means that the hearing officer must not be a regular em­ ployee of the district or directly involved in the care of the child. Parents may demand a hearing to insist that their child be evaluated; to protest the process or outcome of an evaluation or IEP meeting; to challenge the adequacy of special education, related ser­ vices, or other aspects of the program provided; to object to changes of placement or disciplinary actions; or to claim that their procedural rights as parents have been vio­ lated. A school district may also initiate a hearing if the district believes that parents are preventing a child with a disability from receiving an appropriate education (ex­ cept that some states do not permit a school district to initiate a hearing to contest pa­ rental refusal of an initial placement in special education), and the district may also appeal an adverse decision by a hearing officer or state agency to the next level. Courts will generally not consider complaints that have not exhausted the administrative hear­ ing process. The issue of the burden of proof in disputes over whether a child's educational pro­ gram is appropriate is not fully resolved. The IDEA itself does not state whether the school district must show that its proposed program is appropriate or the parents must show that it is not. The Supreme Court's Rowley decision assumed, but did not explic­ itly state, that the school district bore the burden of proving to the hearing officer that the district's program was "designed to provide educational benefit to the handicapped child." Most hearing officers place the burden of proof on the school; however, the sit­ uation changes when a case is appealed to a court. In Rowley, the Supreme Court warned that the federal courts lack expertise in the area of special education and there­

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fore ought to give due weight to the decision of the experts. Courts have interpreted this comment to mean that the burden of proof is on the party who seeks to challenge an impartial hearing officer's ruling,81 but a minority of courts have held that the burden of proof remains on the school district or, in placement disputes, on the party proposing the more restrictive environment.82 If parents prevail at an administrative hearing, the school district must take what­ ever action the hearing officer or state agency prescribes. Parents who prevail in a court case may be granted declaratory and injunctive relief—judicial orders to do what the law requires. Courts may also order remedial action such as an extended school year as a remedy for a school's failure to provide an appropriate education to a child with a disability.83 In addition, parents may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in providing the necessary special education or related service.84 Finally, parents who successfully sue a school district for violation of IDEA may be awarded reimburse­ ment of their attorney's fees. Courts may also award attorney's fees to parents who succeed at an administrative hearing.85 6.4

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Educators and policy makers must deal with a variety of interrelated issues to meet their educational and legal obligations to children who are non-English proficient or limited-English proficient, commonly referred to as English Language Learners (ELL). Some of the issues are phrased in the language of equity, discrimination, and civil rights. Is it equitable to provide all children with an education in the primary lan­ guage of the country in which they live? Conversely, is it equitable to teach students in a language they cannot understand? Is it a moral or legal responsibility of public schools to provide special English proficiency programs for ELL students? Is it fair to spend more money on students who don't speak English than on those who do? A second group of issues is pedagogical. What is the most effective way to help ELL children become English proficient? Should or may English as a second language (ESL) programs be used? Under this approach, students spend most of their day in reg­ ular classes but are pulled out to receive intensive instruction in English. Or might an immersion program work best? One type of immersion has students in classes where the bilingual teacher instructs in English but is capable of understanding students who ask questions in their mother tongue. The curriculum is organized in a way that does not presume the students are English proficient. Or is bilingual education the best method? Under this arrangement students are enrolled in subject matter classes taught in their own language and are provided with special instruction to learn English. Bilingual education itself comes in several versions. Transitional bilingual pro­ grams employ subject matter instruction in the child's language only until the child is capable of learning in all-English classes. Bilingual-bicultural maintenance programs continue instruction in the child's mother tongue even after attainment of English pro­ ficiency. They aim to help the children to develop fluency in both languages and to ap­ preciate both their own and mainstream U.S. culture. Finally, there are social and political questions: Is it in children's best interest to help them maintain proficiency in their mother tongue or does this tend to limit their prospects later in life? Should decisions like this be made by families, students them­

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

161

selves, or society as a whole? Do bilingual programs foster language divisions within the United States that can lead to political instability? Is the effort to promote English as the dominant language an expression of cultural and racial bias? Will we as a nation be better off if our citizens speak but one language or if they are multilingual? Should major policy decisions, such as how best to educate ELL children, be centralized or left to the states or local school districts? Given the range and complexity and lack of consensus on these issues, it is not sur­ prising that federal law and policy have been tumultuous and inconsistent. The first federal effort to address the civil rights of ELL students was based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.86 In 1970, six years after the law was passed, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a memorandum interpreting Title VI's prohibition against discrimination on the basis of "national origin": "[W]here inability to speak and under­ stand the English language excludes national origin-minority group children from ef­ fective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its in­ structional program to these students."87 OCR's interpretation did not require an intent to discriminate as a necessary element of a Title VI violation; rather, a violation would be found wherever a school's language policy had the effect of excluding ELL students from effective participation in its program. Districts in violation of Title VI could lose all their federal funds. In 1974, OCR's interpretation of Title VI was tested in the courts. The plaintiffs in Lau v. Nichols were Chinese ELL students who were not receiving any special assis­ tance to learn English and were enrolled in all-English subject matter classes. The plaintiffs claimed that lack of special language assistance was both a form of racial dis­ crimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and a violation of Title VI. The students lost in the lower courts on both claims. The Ninth Circuit wrote that "[e]very student brings to the starting line of his educational career different advantages and disadvantages caused in part by social, economic and cultural background, created and continued completely apart from any contribution by the school system."88 It simply was not the school district's fault if ELL students were not prepared, and no legal obli­ gation required the schools to overcome their deficiency. In reviewing the Ninth Circuit's decision, the Supreme Court did not address the students' constitutional claims. It did, however, find in the students' favor relying solely on Title VI as interpreted by the OCR. "There is no equality of treatment," wrote the Court, "merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education." To require a child to have already acquired basic English skills before participating in the educational program, said the Court, is to make a mockery of public education. Following the logic of the OCR interpretation, the Court said it was not necessary to show any invidious motivation on the part of the school to establish a Title VI violation. As for the remedy, the Court wrote, "Teaching English to the students of Chinese ancestry who do not speak the language is one choice. Giving instructions to this group in Chinese is another. There maybe others."89 It did not take Congress long to embrace the position taken by the OCR and ac­ cepted by the Supreme Court. In 1974, the same year that Lau was decided, Congress adopted the Equal Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA), which provides in part:

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"[N]o State shall deny equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, by ... the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs."90 The U.S. Attorney Gen­ eral or students adversely affected by a school's language policy are empowered to file civil actions for denial of equal educational opportunity whether the school in­ tended to discriminate or not. In sum, both EEOA and Title VI require a school to provide ELL students with in­ struction designed to help them overcome language barriers that impede their equal participation in the school's program. Title VI prohibits intentional (de jure) discrimi­ nation against ELL students, but does not prohibit unintentional (de facto) discrimina­ tion unless the federal government has issued regulations extending Title VI to unintentional discrimination (see sec. 5.8).91 The Department of Justice has in fact is­ sued a policy guidance document interpreting Title VI to prohibit discriminatory im­ pact (unintentional discrimination) based on national origin (including limited English proficiency), thus requiring recipients of federal aid (including schools) "to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to the information and services they provide." The policy guidance lists factors to be considered in determining whether the steps taken are reasonable: number or proportion of limited-English proficient in­ dividuals, their frequency of contact with the program, the nature and importance of the program, and the resources available.92 Even though Title VI has been interpreted by the federal government to extend to unintentional discrimination, individual plain­ tiffs may not sue to seek enforcement based on this interpretation. Enforcement must be left to a federal or perhaps a state agency.93 The Supreme Court has never considered the substantive requirements of EEOA. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the EEOA was intended to require that schools "make a genuine and good faith effort, consistent with local circumstances and re­ sources, to remedy the language deficiencies of their students...." The language of the law speaks not of any specific program of bilingual education, but rather of taking "appropriate action ... to overcome language barriers" that impede the "equal partic­ ipation" of LEP children in the "regular instructional program." In order to deter­ mine whether a school is meeting its obligation to LEP students, a court should determine first, if the school is "pursuing a program informed by an educational the­ ory recognized as sound by some expert in the field," second, if "the program and practices actually used by the school are reasonably calculated to implement effec­ tively the educational theory...." In addition, the school must be able to show that language barriers are in fact being overcome.94 The Fifth Circuit interpreted federal law to allow states and local school districts to de­ cide whether to offer bilingual education or to employ some other method of assisting ELL students. The federal grant program that assists states and localities in educating ELL stu­ dents (the English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act95) also takes this position, stating that the law shall not be interpreted "to require a State or a local educational agency to establish, continue, or eliminate any partic­ ular type of instructional program for limited English proficient children." Federal law also requires that local school districts offering a federally supported program to:

CLASSIFICATION BY AGE AND ABILITY

163

inform a parent or the parents of a limited English proficient child identified for participa­ tion in ... such program of— (1) the reasons for the identification of their child as limited English proficient ... (2) the child's level of English proficiency ... (3) the method of instruction used in the program ... (4) how the program ... will meet the educational strengths and needs of the child; (5) how such program will specifically help their child learn English ... (6) the specific exit requirements for such program ... (7) in the case of a child with a disability, how such program meets the objectives of the individualized education program of the child; and (8) information pertaining to parental rights.96

ELL students must be included in the annual assessments required by the No Child Left Behind Act (see sec. 2.7). The assessment of any student who has attended school in the United States for three or more consecutive years must be in English. (On a case-by-case basis, individual students may be exempted from this requirement.) The English proficiency of students of limited-English speaking ability must also be as­ sessed annually. In recent years, there has been a trend both at both the federal and state level away from advocating or offering bilingual education. Several states have formally adopted laws and policies prohibiting bilingual education. In 1998, California voters passed a referendum amending the California education code to required that "all children in California public schools shall be taught English by being taught in Eng­ lish. In particular, this shall require that all children be placed in English language classrooms."97 California generally prohibits school districts from using bilingual education except for children who have obtained a waiver in accordance with criteria and procedures specified in the law.98 The California statute has survived several constitutional challenges.99 Two other issues concerning language proficiency have also been litigated. In Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Children v. Michigan Board of Educa­ tion, 100 a federal district court extended the reasoning of Lau to require schools to take special steps to address the needs of speakers of the dialect known as Black Eng­ lish. In Jose P. v. Ambach,101 another federal court found that failure to provide bilin­ gual education to ELL students with disabilities may violate the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see sec. 6.2). 6.5

CLASSIFICATION BY AGE AND ABILITY

When parents claim that a gifted five year old should be permitted to start the first grade or that a precocious twelve-year-old ought to be able to skip a grade, they are objecting to age grouping. Similarly, parents may object to their child's placement in a particular ability group or academic track. Parents raising these objections usually argue that ex­ clusion from the desired program violates their child's right to a generally available edu­ cational benefit and therefore to the "equal protection of the laws." School officials respond that age and ability grouping are educationally sound practices that improve the

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efficiency of the school and help to ensure, by and large, that children and program are appropriately matched. Because differential treatment based on age and ability do not trigger the use of the more stringent tests, courts employ the rational basis test to resolve these disputes. Under this test, the plaintiffs must prove either that the age or ability grouping criteria do not serve any legitimate purpose or that the classification is wholly unrelated to its alleged purpose. Despite some evidence that ability grouping in particular is educa­ tionally ineffective and even counterproductive, plaintiffs do not usually win these suits. Age and ability grouping are long-standing practices intended to serve legiti­ mate purposes, and despite the contrary evidence, courts do not consider it unreason­ able for school officials to believe that these purposes relate to the criteria of classification.102 The major exception is when tracking is used to create segregated programs within schools.103 Parents have the greatest chance of prevailing in a suit attacking ability grouping where the district is under court order to desegregate and the grouping has the effect of perpetuating racial segregation.104 Similarly, parents may be successful if they can prove that tests and other procedures used to assign pupils to programs have a discrimi­ natory impact on racial minorities and that the procedures were chosen because of this impact rather than in spite of it.105 State law and regulations may also provide a basis for objecting to a child's educa­ tional placement or program on equity grounds. For example, many states have laws mandating special educational services for gifted students. On the basis of one of these laws, parents in Pennsylvania were successful in establishing that their local school district had an obligation to provide their gifted child with an enrichment program, in­ cluding advanced instruction in reading and math. The court made clear that the district's obligation was not to maximize the student's achievement nor to become a "Harvard or a Princeton to all who have IQ's over 130," but the district did have an ob­ ligation "to bring their talents to as complete fruition as our facilities allow."106 How­ ever, courts have rejected claims that gifted children have a constitutional or statutory right to start school younger than state statute prescribes.107 6.6

SUMMARY

This chapter considered a number of pupil characteristics that justify the provision of an educational program that differs from the one most students receive. In all cases, differential treatment must meet the requirements of the Equal Protection Clause— that it at least be rationally related to a legitimate state goal. In most instances, classifi­ cations based on the characteristics considered in this chapter—certain physical and mental disabilities, limited English proficiency, age, and intellectual ability—do meet this requirement. In addition, federal statutes and, arguably, the Equal Protection Clause as well, re­ quire that students with disabilities or limited-English-proficiency receive an educa­ tion from which they may reasonably be expected to benefit. The education of students with disabilities is regulated by three statutes: the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

NOTES

165

The first two laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, and the last law makes federal money available to states and districts that follow certain guidelines. The purpose of these laws is to provide children with disabilities with a free, appro­ priate public education designed to meet their individual educational needs. School districts must seek out children with disabilities within their jurisdiction; provide each with a nondiscriminatory, multidisciplinary evaluation of strengths and weaknesses; develop in accordance with each student's evaluation an individualized educational program consisting of special education and related services and provide services in the least restrictive environment. Students with disabilities must be educated in a man­ ner designed to meet measurable goals. Throughout the process, there must be parental participation and the observance of certain procedural safeguards. The law regarding the treatment of limited-English proficient students is not nearly as extensive. However, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educa­ tional Opportunity Act of 1974 both require schools to take "appropriate action" to en­ sure that ELL students are not functionally excluded from meaningful participation in their programs. Appropriate action may include any locally chosen program that is supported by recognized educational theory and is effective in assisting ELL students in learning English. Some states prohibit the use of bilingual education. Age grouping and most forms of ability grouping and tracking, although not man­ dated by considerations of equity, generally survive challenges based on the Equal Protection Clause. The major exception is when grouping or tracking leads to in­ creased racial segregation in a district under court order to desegregate. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

State ex rel. Beattie v. Bd. of Educ. of Antigo, 172 N.W. 153 (Wis. 1919). 334 F. Supp. 1257 (E.D. Pa. 1971), and 343 F. Supp. 279 (E.D. Pa. 1972). 348 F. Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972). 29 U.S.C. §701-796. 42U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213.

20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1485.

But see City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432 (1985). N.M. Ass'n for Retarded Citizens v. New Mexico, 678 F.2d 847 (10th Cir. 1982). 29 U.S.C. § 701-796.; except as otherwise noted, the discussion of RHA is based on the statutes and RHA regulations, Volume 34 C.F.R. 10. Rothschild v. Grottenthaler, 907 F.2d 286 (2d Cir. 1990). 11. N.M. Ass'n for Retarded Citizens v. New Mexico, 678 F.2d 847 (10th Cir. 1982). 12. 42 U.S.C.§§ 12101-12213;exceptasotherwisenoted,thediscussionofADAisbasedonthestatutes and ADA regulations, Volumes 28, 29, 34, & 36 C.F.R. 13. Sch. Bd. of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987). 14. Robertson v. Granite City Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. 9, 684 F. Supp. 1002 (S.D. 111. 1988); Doe v. Dolton Elementary Sch. Dist. No. 148, 694 F. Supp. 440 (N.D. 111. 1988). 15. Baird ex rel. Baird v. Rose, 192 F.3d 462 (4th Cir. 1999). 16. Costello v. Mitchell Pub. Sch. Dist. 79, 266 F.3d 916 (8th Cir. 2001). 17. 442 U.S. 397(1979). 18. Sandison v. Mich. High Sch. Athletic Ass'n, 64 F.3d 1026 (6th Cir. 1995). 19. Pottgen v. Mo. State High Sch. Athletic Ass'n, 40 F.3d 926 (8th Cir. 1994), rev'don other grounds, 103 F.3d 720 (8thCir. 1997). 20. McPherson v. Mich. High Sch. Athletic Ass'n, 119 F.3d 453 (6th Cir. 1997) (en banc). 21. Washington v. Ind. High Sch. Athletic Ass'n, 181 F.3d 840 (7th Cir. 1999). 22. Hoot v. Milan Area Schs., 853 F. Supp. 243 (E.D. Mich. 1994).

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23. Grube v. Bethlehem Area Sch. Dist., 550 F. Supp. 418 (E.D. Pa. 1982); Poole v. S. Plainfield Bd. of Educ., 490 F. Supp. 948 (D.N.J. 1980); Kampmeier v. Nyquist, 553 F.2d 296 (2d Cir. 1977). 24. 697 F.2d 179 (7th Cir. 1983). 25. Sullivan v. Vallejo City United Sch. Dist., 731 F. Supp. 947 (E.D. Cal. 1990). 26. 133 F.3d l41 (1st Cir. 1998). 27. Pandazides v. Va. Bd. of Educ., 13 F.3d 823 (4th Cir. 1994). 28. Moreno v. Consol. R.R. Corp., 99 F.3d 782 (6th Cir. 1996). 29. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1485; except as otherwise noted, discussion of IDEA is based on the statutes and IDEA regulations, Volume 34 C.F.R. 30. See J.D. ex rel. J.D. v. Pawlet Sch. Dist., 224 F.3d 60 (2d Cir. 2000). 31. 93 F.3d 1369 (8th Cir. 1996). 32. 811 F.2d 1307 (9th Cir. 1987). 33. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 283 v. S.D., 88 F.3d 556, 560 (8th Cir. 1996). 34. Blackmon ex rel. Blackmon v. Springfield R-XII Sch. Dist., 198 F.3d 648 (8th Cir. 1999). 35. 458 U.S. 176(1982). 36. Polk v. Cent. Susquehanna Indep. Unit 16, 853 F.2d 171 (3d Cir. 1988); Mrs. B. v. Milford Bd. of Educ.,103F.3dlll4(2dCir. 1997); Hall v.Vance County Bd. of Educ., 774 F.2d 629 (4th Cir. 1985). 37. Bd. of Educ. v. Diamond, 808 F.2d 987 (3d Cir. 1986); see also Ridgewood Bd. of Educ. v. N.E. ex rel. M.E., 172 F.3d 238 (3d Cir. 1999); M.C. ex rel. J.C. v. Cent. Reg'l Sch., 81 F.3d 389 (3d Cir. 1996). 38. M.C. ex rel. J.C. v. Cent. Reg'l Sch., 81 F.3d 389 (3d Cir. 1996). 39. Cypress-Fairbanks Intermediate Sch. Dist. v. Michael F., 118 F.3d 245 (5th Cir. 1997). 40. Burke County Bd. of Educ. v. Denton, 895 F.2d 973 (4th Cir. 1990); Bd. of Educ. of E. Windsor Reg'l Sch. Dist. v. Diamond, 808 F.2d 987 (3rd Cir. 1986); David D. v. Dartmouth Sch. Comm., 775 F.2d 411 (1st Cir. 1985); compare O'Toole v. Olathe Dist. Sch. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 233, 144 F.3d 692 (10th Cir. 1998); see also Johnson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 4, 921 F.2d 1022 (10th Cir. 1990) (holding that Kansas and Oklahoma law do not provide for a higher standard). 41. 875 F.2d 954 (1st Cir. 1989). 42. Rettig v. Kent City Sch. Dist., 788 F.2d 328 (6th Cir. 1986); Johnson v. Lancaster-Lebanon Intermedi­ ate Unit 13, 757 F. Supp. 606 (E.D. Pa. 1991). 43. Clevenger v. Oak Ridge Sch. Bd., 744 F.2d 514 (6th Cir. 1984). 44. Johnson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 4, 921 F.2d 1022 (10th Cir. 1990). 45. 526 U.S. 66 (1999). 46. 468 U.S. 883(1984). 47. Detsel v. Bd. of Educ., 637 F. Supp. 1022 (N.D.N.Y. 1986), aff'd, 820 F.2d 587 (2d Cir. 1987) (per curiam). 48. See Max M. v. Thompson, 592 F. Supp. 1450 (N.D. 111. 1984) (supportive psychological service); McKenzie v. Jefferson, 566 F. Supp. 404 (D.D.C. 1983) (excluded medical service). 49. 225 F.3d 887 (7th Cir. 2000). 50. See Hurry v. Jones, 734 F.2d 879 (1st Cir. 1984); Alamo Heights Indep. Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Educ., 790 F.2d 1153 (5th Cir. 1986). 51. McNairv. Oak Hills Local Sch. Dist., 872 F.2d 153 (6th Cir. 1989). 52. Macomb County Intermediate Sch. Dist. v. Joshua S., 715 F. Supp. 824 (E.D. Mich. 1989). 53. Felter v. Cape Girardeau Pub. Sch. Dist., 810 F. Supp. 1062 (E.D. Mo. 1993). 54. See Daniel R.R. v. State Bd. Of Educ., 874 F.2d 1036 (5th Circ. 1989); Roncker v. Walter, 700 F.2d 1058 (6th Cir. 1983); Lachmanv. 111. State Board of Education, 852 F.2d 290 (7th Cir. 1988);Oberti v. Board of Educ. of Clementon Sch. Dist., 995 F.2d 1204 (3d Cir. 1993); Greer v. Rome City Sch. Dist., 950 F.2d 688 (llth Cir. 1991), opinion withdrawn and remanded, 956 F.2d 1025 (llth Cir. 1992). 55. Sacramento City Unified Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Rachel H., 14 F.3d 1398 (9th Cir. 1994). 56. Hartmann v. Loudoun County Bd. of Educ., 118 F.3d 996 (4th Cir. 1997). 57. See In re Drew P. v. Clark County Sch. Dist., 877 F.2d 927 (11th Cir. 1989). 58. Kruelle v. New Castle County Sch. Dist., 642 F.2d 687 (3d Cir. 1981). 59. Taylor v. Honig, 910 F.2d 627 (9th Cir. 1990); Clovis Unified Sch. Dist. v. Cal. Office of Admin. Hear­ ings, 903 F.2d 635 (9th Cir. 1990). 60. Abrahamson v. Hershman, 701 F.2d 233 (1st Cir. 1983); Battle v. Pennsylvania, 629 F.2d 269 (3d Cir. 1980). 61. Kruelle v. New Castle County Sch. Dist., 642 F.2d 687 (3d Cir. 1981).

NOTES

167

62. Dale M. ex rel. Alice M. v. Bd. of Educ. of Bradley-Bourbonnais High Sch. Dist. No. 307, 237 F.3d 813 (7th Cir. 2001); see also Butler v. Evans, 225 F.3d 887 (7th Cir. 2000). 63. Clevenger v. Oak Ridge Sch. Bd., 744 F.2d 514 (6th Cir. 1984). 64. Alamo Heights Indep. Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Educ., 790 F.2d 1153 (5th Cir. 1986); Helms v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 3 of Broken Arrow, 750 F.2d 820 (10th Cir. 1984). 65. Parks v. Pavkovic, 753 F.2d 1397 (7th Cir. 1985) (dictum); Abrahamson v. Hershman, 701 F.2d 223 (1st Cir. 1983) (dictum). 66. KDM ex rel. WJM v. Reedsport Sch. Dist., 196F.3d 1046(9thCir. 1999), reh'gdenied,210F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 2000); Jasa v. Millard Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 17, 206 F.3d 813 (8th Cir. 2000). 67. Hooks v. Clark County Sch. Dist., 228 F.3d 1036 (9th Cir. 2000). 68. Cefalu v. E. Baton Rouge Parish Sch. Bd., 117 F.3d 231 (5th Cir. 1997). 69. Burlington Sch. Comm. of Burlington v. Dep't of Educ. of Mass., 471 U.S. 359 (1985); see also Flor­ ence County Sch. Dist. Four v. Carter, 510 U.S. 7 (1993). 70. Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills Sch. Dist., 509 U.S. 1 (1993). 71. See Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997). 72. 629F.2d751 (2d Cir. 1980). 73. Tilton v. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ., 705 F.2d 800 (6th Cir. 1983). 74. DeLeonv. Susquehanna Cmty. Sch. Dist., 747F.2d 149 (3d Cir. 1984); see also Weil v. Bd. of Elemen­ tary & Secondary Educ., 931 F.2d 1069 (5th Cir. 1991). 75. Doe v. Brookline Sch. Comm., 722 F.2d 910 (1st Cir. 1983). 76. Saleh v. District of Columbia, 660 F. Supp. 212 (D.D.C. 1987). 77. Cochran v. District of Columbia, 660 F. Supp. 314 (D.D.C. 1987). 78. 202 F.3d 642 (3d Cir. 2000). 79. See for historical background, Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305 (1988); Doe v. Bd. of Educ. of Oak Park & River Forest High Sch. Dist. 200, 115 F.3d 1273 (7th Cir. 1997). 80. S.W. v. Holbrook Pub. Schs., 221 F. Supp. 2d 222 (D. Mass. 2002). 81. Walczak v. Fla. Union Free Sch. Dist., 142 F.3d 119 (2d Cir. 1998); Fort Zumwalt Sch. Dist. v. Clynes, 119 F.3d 607 (8th Cir. 1997); Clyde K. v. Puyallup Sch., 35 F.3d 1396 (9th Cir. 1994); Roland M. v. Concord Sch. Comm., 910 F.2d 983 (1st Cir. 1990); Kerkam v. McKenzie, 862 F.2d 884 (D.C. Cir. 1988); Spielberg v. Henrico County Pub. Sch., 853 F.2d 256 (4th Cir. 1988). 82. Oberti v. Bd. of Educ. of Clementon Sch. Dist., 995 F.2d 1204 (3d Cir. 1993); Lascari v. Bd. of Educ. of Ramapo Indian Hills, 560 A.2d 1180 (N.J.I 989). 83. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ. v. Breen, 853 F.2d 853 (11th Cir. 1988); Miener v. Missouri, 800 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1986); but see Alexopulos v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 817 F.2d 551 (9th Cir. 1987). 84. Hurry v. Jones, 734 F.2d 879 (1st Cir. 1984); Burr v. Ambach, 863 F.2d 1071 (2d Cir. 1988). 85. Eggers v. Bullitt County Sch. Dist., 854 F. 2d 892 (6th Cir. 1988). 86. 42 U.S.C. § 2000(d). 87. Office for Civil Rights, Identification of Discrimination of Denial of Services on the Basis of National Origin, 35 Fed. Reg. 11,595 (May 25, 1970). 88. 483F.2d791 (9th Cir. 1973), rev 'd, 414 U.S. 563 (1974). 89. Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974). 90. 20 U.S.C. § 1703(f). 91. Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275 (2001); Guardians Ass'n v. Civil Serv. Comm., 463 U.S. 582 (1983). 92. Civil Rights Div., Dep't of Justice, 65 Fed. Reg. 50123 (August 16, 2000). 93. Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275 (2001). 94. Castaneda v. Pickard, 648 F.2d 989 (5th Cir. 1981); see also Serna v. Portales Mun. Sch., 499 F.2d 1147(10thCir. 1974); Riosv. Read, 480 F. Supp. 14(E.D.N.Y. 1978); Gomez v. 111. State Bd. Of Educ., 811 F.2d 1030 (7th Cir. 1987); Teresa P. v. Berkeley Unified Sch. Dist., 724 F. Supp. 698 (N.D. Cal. 1989); Flores v. Ariz., 48 F. Supp. 2d 937 (D. Ariz., 1999), and 172 F. Supp. 2d 1225 (2000). 95. 20 U.S.C. § 6845 (referring to 20 U.S.C. § 6811). 96. 20 U.S.C. §7012. 97. CAL. EDUC. CODE § 305. SeeCal.Teachers Ass'n v. State Bd. of Educ., 271 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir. 2001); Valeria G. v. Wilson, 12 F. Supp. 2d 1007 (N.D. Cal. 1998); see also, ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 15-751 et. seq.

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98. McLaughlin v. State Bd. of Educ., 89 Cal. Rptr. 2d 295 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999). 99. Cal. Teachers Ass'n v. State Bd. of Educ., 271 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir. 2001); Cal. Teachers Ass'n v. State Bd. of Educ., 263 F.3d 888 (9th Cir. 2001); Valeria G. v. Wilson, 12 F. Supp. 2d 1007 (N.D. Cal. 1998). 100. 451 F. Supp. 1324 (E.D. Mich. 1978). 101. 3 E.H.L.R. 551:245 (E.D.N.Y. 1979). 102. Sandlin v. Johnson, 643 F.2d 1027 (4th Cir. 1981); Hammond v. Marx, 406 F. Supp. 853 (D. Me. 1975). 103. McNeal v. Tate County Sch. Dist., 508 F.2d 1017 (5th Cir. 1975); Morales v. Shannon, 516 F.2d 411 (5th Cir. 1975); Moses v. Wash. Parish Sch. Bd., 330 F. Supp. 1340 (E.D. La. 1971), aff'd, 456 F.2d 1285 (5th Cir. 1972) (per curiam); Hobson v. Hansen, 269 F. Supp. 401 (D.D.C. 1967), aff'd sub nom, Smuck v. Hobson, 408 F.2d 175 (D.C. Cir. 1969) (en bane). 104. McNeal v. Tate County Sch. Dist., 508 F.2d 1017 (5th Cir. 1975); Bester v. Tuscaloosa City Bd. of Educ., 722 F.2d 1514 (llt h Cir. 1984). 105. Larry P. v. Riles, 793 F.2d 969 (9th Cir. 1984). 106. Centennial Sch. Dist. v. Dep't of Educ., 539 A.2d 785 (Pa. 1988). 107. Zweifel v. Joint Dist. No. 1, 251 N.W.2d 822 (Wis. 1977).

CHAPTER

7

FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL

AND STATUTORY RIGHTS

OF TEACHERS

Now begins a series of three chapters discussing the legal framework of the relation­ ship between schools and their employees. The law concerning the school's treatment of its employees emanates from many sources—state and federal constitutional provi­ sions, state and federal statutes, and the common law. For example, the dismissal of a tenured teacher must be for reasons specified in state law and follow procedures re­ quired by state law, the teacher's contract, the collective bargaining agreement, and the Constitution's Due Process Clause. The dismissal may not violate the free speech or other constitutional rights of the teacher or federal or state statutes prohibiting various forms of discrimination in employment. This chapter examines the federal constitu­ tional and statutory rights of teachers and other employees. Chapter 8 deals with em­ ployment and personnel issues like hiring, evaluation, and dismissal. Chapter 9 looks at collective bargaining, contracts, and the role of professional unions. Recall that the Constitution places limitations on the power of government to con­ trol the behavior of individuals. There are certain behaviors that under normal circum­ stances government may not regulate and certain laws that it cannot make. Viewed from the perspective of the individual, these limitations are the civil rights and liberties enjoyed by every member of society. Public schools, as representatives of the govern­ ment, are bound to respect these rights in their dealings not only with students but also with their employees. However, as with students, there are times when the special circumstances of the school necessitate a balancing between the constitutional rights of employees and the promotion of important educational goals. In addition, the legal power of the gov­ 169

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ernment over its employees is greater than over ordinary citizens. Thus, there are cir­ cumstances when the school board may impose requirements and restrictions on its teachers that government in general could not impose on the citizenry. At times, however, the school must accommodate its program to the constitutional rights of its teachers. This chapter examines these issues with regard to the constitutional provisions that have engendered the most conflict and litigation in education: freedom of speech, free­ dom of religion, the right to privacy, the Fourth Amendment's protection against un­ reasonable search and seizure, and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the law. The discussion assumes knowledge of the constitutional princi­ ples and doctrines presented in earlier chapters. In addition to the Constitution, a significant body of federal statutes regulates the employment practices of public schools. These statutes supplement and expand the re­ quirements of the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting discrimination in employ­ ment on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, or age. Sections 7.4 to 7.7 examine the application of federal antidiscrimination statutes to employment prac­ tices in public education.

7.1

POLITICAL ACTIVITY AND NONCURRICULAR SPEECH

May school boards insist that teachers embrace the board's political and educational views? Must school employees be permitted to publicly oppose the policies or to di­ rectly criticize the members of the school board that employs them? Must teachers be permitted to reveal or advocate their political or personal beliefs to a captive audience of students? Does not the school have the right to inculcate society's chosen values by controlling the speech of its teachers? Do not public school officials have the right and perhaps the duty to protect their pupils from viewpoints they consider undesirable or dangerous? To answer these questions, courts have had to strike a balance between ed­ ucators' freedom of speech and a school's right to promote its educational goals. As with students, the balance depends in part on whether the speech occurs in school or out and whether the speech is part of the school's curriculum. This section deals with teacher speech that occurs outside the context of the school curriculum. The next sec­ tion deals with curricular speech by teachers and other school employees. Public school teachers have always occupied a sensitive and a visible role in the community. In the public schools of colonial New England, people could not be teach­ ers unless the town minister certified their religious and moral rectitude. Although states no longer impose a religious qualification on teachers, they have in more recent times employed ideological tests. Practices designed to enforce these qualifications have included political background checks, disqualification of members of political groups considered dangerous or subversive, and required loyalty oaths. In keeping with the strong anticommunist sentiments of the time, the Supreme Court during the 1950s generally found these practices a constitutionally permissible way of protecting the government service from subversives. For example, in Adler v. Board of Education of New York,' the Supreme Court upheld a New York law disquali­ fying from employment in civil service or public schools any person who "advocates,

POLITICAL ACTIVITY AND NONCURRICULAR SPEECH

171

advises or teaches" governmental overthrow by force or violence or who organizes or joins any group advocating such doctrine. With the coming of the new decade, the Supreme Court changed its view of the con­ stitutionality of these security measures. In 1960, in Shelton v. Tucker,2 the Court pro­ hibited school boards from requiring teachers to disclose all their associational ties and memberships. In 1964, in Baggett v. Bulling the Court forbade the use of vaguely worded loyalty oaths. Then, in 1967, in Keyishian v. Board of Regents,4 the Court took a major step toward protecting the political rights of teachers by prohibiting states and school boards from dismissing teachers for membership in disfavored organizations, even those with vio­ lent or unlawful goals such as the Communist party. Such dismissals, reasoned the Court, would violate the teachers' right to freedom of association, a corollary of free speech (see sec. 3.5). It would be permissible to fire a teacher for "specific intent to fur­ ther the unlawful aims of an organization" but not for "mere membership" or even knowledge of the organization's unlawful goals. However, as much as Keyishian, Baggett, and Shelton stand against attempts to im­ pose ideological qualifications on teachers, the Supreme Court continues to allow states or school boards to require an "affirmative oath," a pledge, for example, to up­ hold and defend the Constitution or oppose the overthrow of the government by illegal means.5 (Negative oaths, for example, "I have never been a member of a subversive or­ ganization," are impermissible.) The Court has also upheld against a challenge based on the Equal Protection Clause a state policy denying teacher certification to aliens who were eligible but refused to apply for U.S. citizenship.6 Thus, although no one may be excluded from teaching solely because of membership in a disfavored political organization, even one that advocates violent overthrow of the government, the Con­ stitution permits requiring teachers to take a specifically worded positive loyalty oath or to hold or seek citizenship. On a related issue, the Supreme Court has made it clear that public employees gen­ erally may not be dismissed, punished, or rewarded solely because of their party af­ filiation or political beliefs. Thus, the Court has sought an end to the traditional practice of political patronage, which in schools often meant the replacement of ad­ ministrators and even teachers after municipal or school board elections. The major exception to this limitation is with regard to those positions for which "party affilia­ tion is an appropriate requirement for the effective performance of the public office involved."7 Based on these principles, teachers have been protected from dismissal because they either supported the recall or opposed the reelection of incumbent school board members.8 One court ruled that the refusal to hire teachers for summer employment because they supported the losing candidates for school board was impermissible.9 It is, however, arguably permissible for a school board to replace top central office administrators whose politics on issues relating directly to the opera­ tion of the schools differ from the board's. In Castle v. Colonial School District,w a federal district court prohibited enforce­ ment of a school board policy prohibiting employees from engaging in political activi­ ties on school property at any time. The purpose of the policy was to prevent off-duty teachers from soliciting votes at polling places located in the schools. The board ar­ gued that the prohibition was needed to limit disruption and to protect voters from

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undue influence from teachers. But there was also evidence that board members were "annoyed about teachers advocating the election of rival board candidates." The court ruled in favor of the teachers, finding that the very essence of free speech was at stake; teachers had a right to criticize the current board and were in a unique position to pro­ vide the public with information regarding the quality of the schools. Because of the great potential for conflict of interest, teachers may be prohibited from becoming school board members in the district in which they are employed;11 however, they may not be prohibited from serving on the school board of another dis­ trict or from running for or holding other public office.12 Mandatory leaves of absence for teachers who seek or hold public office are also impermissible except, possibly, as part of a general requirement of leave of absence13 for any similarly time-consuming outside employment or activity. In a significant number of cases, a school has sought to punish teachers for express­ ing their personal opinions. Many of these cases concern a teacher's criticism of the school board's policies or programs or the performance of district administrators or other personnel. The school's rationale is usually that the communication may under­ mine public support for school officials and school policies or damage working rela­ tions within the school. The Pickering Case

In Pickering v. Board of Education,14 the Supreme Court developed a framework for deciding these cases. Pickering, a teacher, wrote a letter to the local newspaper criticiz­ ing his board of education's allocation of funds and desire to raise additional funds through a bond issue and accusing the superintendent of schools of attempting to pre­ vent teachers from opposing the proposed bond issue. Some of the alleged facts in the letter were erroneous. After a hearing, the board voted to dismiss Pickering for conduct "detrimental to the efficient operation and administration of... the district." As justifi­ cation for their actions, the board cited the falsity of some of Pickering's statements, which they claimed unjustifiably damaged the reputations of the board and superinten­ dent. In addition, the board argued that the letter would be disruptive of faculty disci­ pline and tend to arouse "controversy, conflict, and dissension among teachers, administrators, the Board of Education, and the residents of the district." Pickering ob­ jected to the dismissal on the grounds that his actions were protected by the First Amendment. In deciding the Pickering case, the Court was faced with the task of balancing the teacher's right to free expression with the board's legitimate expectation that the teachers in its employ would promote the valid educational goals and policies of the district. The Court began its analysis by stating that, despite the board's claims, Pickering's letter had no potential to adversely affect "either discipline by superiors or harmony among coworkers." The working relationships between a teacher and school board and between a teacher and superintendent "are not the kind of close working re­ lationships for which it can persuasively be claimed that loyalty and confidence are necessary to their proper functioning." Furthermore, noted the Court, the board had produced no evidence of damage to anyone's reputation or of any controversy or con­ flict resulting from the letter.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY AND NONCURRICULAR SPEECH

173

Most significantly, the subject of Pickering's letter was a matter of public concern on which the judgment of the school administration, including the School Board, cannot, in a society that leaves such questions to popular vote, be taken as conclusive. On such a question, free and open debate is vital to informed decision-making by the electorate. Teachers are, as a class, the members of a community most likely to have informed and definite opinions as to how funds allotted to the operation of the schools should be spent. Accordingly it is essential that they be able to speak out freely on such questions without fear of retaliatory dismissal.

In evaluating the significance of the factual errors found in Pickering's letter, the Court again drew a distinction between issues of public debate and concern such as those discussed by Pickering and matters of the day-to-day operation of the schools. Whereas it might be difficult for a school administration to counter a teacher's false statements about what goes on daily in their schools, in Pickering's case there would be no assumption on the part of his readers that he possessed any special or insider knowledge, and the board had only to publish the true facts. There was no evidence that Pickering had set out to lie or to deceive, only that he had made mistakes. Based on all of these considerations, the Court concluded that "absent proof of false statements knowingly or recklessly made by him, a teacher's exercise of his right to speak on is­ sues of public importance may not furnish the basis for his dismissal from public em­ ployment." Pickering's dismissal was unconstitutional. Post-Pickering Cases Since Pickering, four Supreme Court cases have helped to further clarify the boundaries of protected speech for school and other public employees. In the first of these cases, Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District,15 the Court held that speech need not be made in a public forum to be considered a matter of public concern. Thus, al­ though a teacher's criticism of the school board's policies on racial issues was privately expressed to the principal, it still received the protection of the First Amendment. The second and most significant of these cases, Connick v. Myers,16 concerned an assistant district attorney, Myers, dismissed in part for circulating a questionnaire so­ liciting the support of her coworkers for her criticisms of the policies and practices of her superiors in the office. To decide the case, the Court, in accordance with Pickering, first had to determine whether the questionnaire dealt with matters of public concern or public importance. "Whether an employee's speech addresses a matter of public con­ cern," declared the Court, "must be determined by the content, form, and context of a given statement...." Analyzing the questionnaire, the Court concluded that most of the issues it raised were simply personal grievances. Most of the questions did not touch on ongoing is­ sues already in the public realm. Nor did they attempt to inform the public directly of important issues or to bring to light wrongdoing or breaches of the public trust. In addi­ tion, Myers spoke out only in the context of her office and only after receiving an un­ wanted transfer notice, suggesting that her motivation was purely personal. The Court concluded that personal grievances expressed within the context of public employ­

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ment do not qualify as matters of public concern: "[T]he First Amendment does not re­ quire a public office to be run as a roundtable for employee complaints over internal office affairs." Thus, the Court concluded that the questions that reflected purely per­ sonal grievances did not receive First Amendment protection. However, in analyzing the questionnaire, the Court found one question that was not a purely personal grievance: The question asked if assistant district attorneys were ever pressured by superiors to work on political campaigns, thereby implicitly alleging wrongdoing on the part of high public officials. Because this allegation was a matter of public concern, it was necessary to determine whether it was permissible for this ques­ tion to have contributed to Myers' dismissal. In making this determination, the Court sought to strike a balance between Myers' rights and the interest of her office "in pro­ moting the efficiency of the public services it performs...." There is a limit, said the Court, to how much disruption need be tolerated by a public employer for the sake of freedom of speech. The limit must be determined on a caseby-case basis depending on such factors as the importance of the issue that was raised, the likelihood that the speech would result in disruption, and the degree and nature of disruption that actually occurred. Applying these criteria to Myers' actions, the Court found that the questionnaire addressed a matter of public concern only in "a most lim­ ited way," that the questionnaire was an act of insubordination that could and did cause a "mini-insurrection," and that the questionnaire damaged close working relations within the district attorney's office. Thus, the Court concluded that Myers' dismissal did not violate her right to freedom of speech. In 1987, the Supreme Court provided further clarification of the Pickering and Connich doctrines. In Rankin v. McPherson,17 the Court held that a clerical employee in a local constable's office could not be discharged for saying over the telephone, after hearing of the attempted assassination of President Reagan, "If they go for him again, I hope they get him." In finding that McPherson's remark dealt with a matter of public concern, the Court noted that the remark was made in the context of a conversation ad­ dressing the policies of the Reagan administration, and that the "inappropriate or con­ troversial character of a statement is irrelevant to the question of whether it deals with a matter of public concern." The Court went on to conclude that the actual and potential disruptive effect of the remark was minimal because McPherson did not serve in a con­ fidential, policy-making, or public-contact role, nor was there any showing that McPherson's statement had interfered with the effective functioning of the constable's office or that it was made in a context that would bring discredit upon the office. The Court ruled that McPherson had engaged in "protected speech" and that her dismissal was impermissible. In 1994, in Waters v. Churchill18 the Supreme Court again used the Pickering and Connick doctrines to decide the case of a nurse at a public hospital dismissed after a pri­ vate conversation at work with a trainee. The hospital claimed that the nurse's state­ ments were personal grievances designed to prevent the trainee from working in a particular department of the hospital and to undermine the authority of the department's supervisor. The nurse claimed that her statements concerned the failure of her department to follow established procedures and thus were matters of public concern. In a plurality opinion, the Court ruled that the nurse's First Amendment rights had not been violated because the hospital had made a "reasonable, good-faith" effort to deter­

POLITICAL ACTIVITY AND NONCURRICULAR SPEECH

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mine if the speech dealt with matters of public concern and had concluded that it did not. Even though a court might have found differently, "[g]overnment employers should be allowed to use personnel procedures that differ from the evidentiary rules used by courts, without fear that these differences will lead to liability." Furthermore, as stated in Connick, even speech addressing matters of public concern may be the basis of dismissal if the employer can make a substantial showing that the speech was likely to be disruptive. "Discouraging people from coming to work for a department," the Court noted, "certainly qualifies as disruption," as do negative comments that un­ dermine the authority of a direct supervisor. Applying these cases in the context of the public school requires careful analysis. In order to determine whether a school employee's noncurricular speech is protected, school officials must make a reasonable good-faith attempt to answer two questions. First, did the speech address a matter of public concern? If not, the speech is not pro­ tected and may constitutionally be the basis for disciplining the employee. However, if yes, then considering the content, form, and context of the speech, which was greater: the employee's interest in the speech or the actual or potential disruptive effect of the speech? If the former, then the speech is protected, but if the latter, then it is not. Although there is no easy formula for answering the first question, the cases that have been decided so far indicate that courts will view comments on the following top­ ics as matters of public concern: the school curriculum and program, the safety and physical well-being of students, issues raised in collective bargaining, alleged corrup­ tion by school or other public officials, and issues that are already the subject of wide­ spread public discussion.19 Also viewed as matters of public concern are any remarks made in a court trial or at a public hearing regarding issues placed on the agenda by a public agency.20 However, the Seventh Circuit has ruled that speech regarding the ef­ fects of a school policy on an employee personally will not be viewed as addressing a matter of public concern. So, a teacher who discussed class size only in defense of criti­ cism about her classroom performance was deemed not to have spoken on a matter of public concern.21 Purely private communications on issues of no importance to the public may also not be protected. In one case, the court upheld the dismissal of a teacher who told some of her colleagues at work that she was bisexual and had a female lover, ruling that private communication of this kind was not protected speech.22 Regarding the second question, at least this much can be said: The more important the issue raised by the employee and the more significant the information supplied by the employee (i.e., the more valuable the speech), the more the courts seem willing to insist that some disruption be tolerated. However, the more vituperative and abusive the language used by the employee and the more personal the attack, the less disruption need be tolerated. Speech that urges colleagues to engage in unlawful disruptive activ­ ities such as illegal strikes is less likely to receive protection as is speech that discloses the content of confidential or private files or speech that contains significant errors or deliberate falsehoods. Even an honest statement of opinion can be disruptive enough to warrant dismissal as in the case of a teacher dismissed from a predominantly Black school after expressing hatred of Blacks.23 On issues relating to their "official responsibilities," school employees deemed to work in policy-making positions (most administrators) may have less protection of freedom of speech than non-policy-making employees (teachers and nonprofes­

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sionals). The Seventh Circuit permitted the demotion and ultimate dismissal of a prin­ cipal who, against the orders of her superiors, publicly criticized the district's reformulation of a grant proposal. The court found that, as a policy maker in the dis­ trict, the principal owed her superiors a "duty of loyalty" on this subject even though it was a matter of public concern: "[T]he First Amendment does not prohibit the dis­ charge of a policy-making employee when that individual has engaged in speech on a matter of public concern in a manner that is critical of superiors or their stated poli­ cies." The court did not view its ruling as inconsistent with Pickering; rather, it found that the potential for disruption was self-evident in cases when a policy maker publicly expresses disagreement with policies that her job requires her to enforce. The principal's remarks had in fact created tension between the teachers union and school board.24 School officials may not seek to stifle open criticism by teachers of school policies by requiring that genuine issues of public concern be pursued exclusively through "channels."25 Nor may regulations of employee speech be unconstitutionally vague or overbroad (see sec. 4.1); for example, prohibitions against "criticism" of colleagues or superiors.26 School officials should also be aware that forty states have enacted whistleblower statutes that protect teachers and other public employees who in good faith report a violation of law, government waste, or specific dangers to public health and safety from adverse employment actions.27 Teachers claiming dismissal, demotion, transfer, or reprimand in violation of their free speech rights must first prove that they did in fact engage in protected speech ac­ cording to the criteria established by the Supreme Court in Pickering, Connick, and other relevant cases. Plaintiffs must prove that the protected speech was a substantial factor in the board's decision to discipline. If a plaintiff succeeds in establishing these two points, the burden of proof then switches to the school to establish by preponder­ ance of the evidence that the same decision would have been reached regardless of the teacher's speech. That is, school officials must establish that the administrative action occurred for some other reason, such as because of the teacher's incompetence. Thus, a teacher cannot be disciplined for engaging in protected speech, but a teacher cannot avoid discipline just by engaging in protected speech.28 This points to the usefulness of an adequate set of contemporaneous records to accompany any adverse administrative action taken against a teacher or other employee. 7.2

ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND CURRICULAR SPEECH

Chapter 2 showed that the school retains the power to control its own curriculum even in the face of most parental and student objections. But what about teachers? Do they have the right to exercise any control over what they teach in their own classrooms, or does the school have absolute control? The doctrine that teachers have the right to control their own curriculum and instruc­ tional methodology is known as "academic freedom." Although U.S. university profes­ sors customarily enjoy a high degree of academic freedom, public elementary and secondary teachers have a much more modest claim. Although many cases have been brought by teachers claiming academic freedom, no court has recognized the constitu­ tional right of a teacher to control basic course content or instructional methodology.

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In Cary v. Board of Education of Adams-Arapahoe School District 28-J,29 the court ruled against teachers who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated when their school board removed ten books from a large list of books approved for use in elective junior- and senior-level literature classes. The board decreed that any teacher who assigned these books, gave credit for reading the books, had the books read aloud in class, or discussed the books at significant length could be dismissed. Although upholding this policy, the court noted that teachers do have "some rights to freedom of expression" in junior and senior classrooms. Teachers "cannot be made to simply read from a script prepared or approved by the board.... Censorship or sup­ pression of expression of opinion, even in the classroom, should be tolerated only when there is a legitimate interest of the state which can be said to require priority." At the same time, the court said it was legitimate for the curriculum of the school to "reflect the value system and educational emphasis which are the collective will of those whose children are being educated and who are paying the costs." If the board has the power to not offer a particular elective course as it surely does, said the court, it also has the authority to select the major texts of the courses it does offer. The case would have been different, the court continued, if the removal had represented a sys­ tematic effort to exclude a particular system of thought or philosophy. However, be­ cause the teachers did not claim they were prohibited from studying an entire representative group of writers, their position amounted to a desire "to be freed from the 'personal predilections' of the board," and this wish, the court concluded, had no constitutional basis. Similarly, in Millikan v. Board of Directors of Everett School District30 the court found against teachers who wished to offer a team-taught social studies course of their own design instead of the "conventional" course approved by the board. The majority of students in the school, when offered a choice between the two courses, had opted for the conventional course. In deciding the case, the court noted that the course the teach­ ers wished to offer differed significantly from the conventional course in content as well as instructional methodology (the proposed course centered around the use of "discovery techniques"—small group work, independent reading and writing, and in­ quiry). "Course content," said the court, "is manifestly a matter within the board's dis­ cretion." The court's position regarding instructional methods was less absolute: "[T]eachers should have some measure of freedom in teaching techniques employed." Nevertheless, after reviewing a variety of related cases, the court endorsed the princi­ ple that "a school district has authority to prescribe both course content and teaching methods." Moreover, the court concluded that if the unconventional teaching methods detract from the scope of a conventional history course, the teachers "may be com­ pelled to abandon their own preferred techniques and to teach history in a more con­ ventional manner." These cases do not mean that in classroom situations the school can always put whatever words it chooses into a teacher's mouth. In one case, a federal appeals court protected a teacher's refusal to participate in a school-mandated flag salute. The court found that the teacher' s refusal did not disrupt her tenth-grade class, in part because an­ other teacher was in the room to lead the exercise.31 However, if the refusal had been viewed as part of a pattern of depriving the students of access to the prescribed curricu­ lum, the teacher would probably have lost.32

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Although the case involved student speech, a number of courts have relied on the basic doctrine of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (see sec. 3.3)—that school officials may control "school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns"—to reject teacher claims of academic freedom. One court cited Kuhlmeier in ruling against a teacher who was disciplined for permitting students to put on a play depicting a dysfunctional family in which one child was lesbian and another pregnant out of wedlock.33 Another cited both Kuhlmeier and Pickering in denying a teacher's right to select a class reading list without first obtain­ ing prior approval.34 The Eighth Circuit allowed the dismissal of a teacher who vio­ lated board policy by allowing her students to perform in class student-written plays that contained a great deal of profanity.35 A state court permitted the reassignment of a science teacher who would not teach the theory of evolution without including a criti­ cism of the theory, which was not part of the curriculum.36 Some courts have protected teachers from dismissal for introducing materials or methods that they had not been informed were forbidden. These rulings are in keeping with the general procedural due process principle that forbids punishment without prior notice that the behavior was prohibited. For example, in Kingsville Independent School District v. Cooper37 a nontenured high school teacher used a role-playing sim­ ulation to teach the history of the post-American Civil War Reconstruction period. The school decided not to renew her contract because the school received numerous com­ plaints about the controversial nature of the simulation. The court held that the simula­ tion was protected speech, and the discharge "cannot be upheld unless the discussions clearly overbalance her usefulness as an instructor." Another court protected a teacher who had invited speakers into the class to discuss industrial hemp even though state law prohibited its possession.38 In Mailloux v. Kiley,39 a high school teacher wrote the word "fuck" on the black­ board, asked a student what the word meant, and explained that the definition, "sexual intercourse," is not a taboo word in our culture, but the word on the blackboard is. The teacher did this "to illustrate that to some extent a society and its ways are illustrated by its taboo words." This discussion was to help explain the meaning of a book legiti­ mately assigned to the students. The district court found that the case involved "the use of teaching methods which divide professional opinion." The court found that in such a case "the state may suspend or discharge the teacher for using that method but it may not resort to such drastic sanctions unless the state proves he was put on notice either by a regulation or otherwise that he should not use that method." The district court found that no such warning had been given and therefore ordered the defendants to re­ employ the teacher. Not all courts have been as protective of teachers' choices as Cooper and Mailloux. Krizek v. Cicero-Stickney Township High School District No. 20140 concerned a nontenured teacher whose contract was not renewed because she showed an R-rated movie containing nudity, "vulgarity," and "sexually explicit scenes" to her high school English class. The court determined that the issue under consideration was one of reasonableness: Was it reasonable for the school to refuse to renew the teacher's contract because she showed the film? The court based its answer to this question on two factors:

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The first is whether the school could reasonably find the showing of the film offended "legitimate pedagogical concerns" ... given the school's right to establish the contents of the curriculum. The second factor is the severity of the sanction.... It is not reasonable to fire a teacher for any indiscretion; the indiscretion must be of significant enough impor­ tance to justify such a severe sanction.

Applying this analysis to the facts of the case, the court decided that it was reasonable for the school to conclude that the teacher's actions raised legitimate pedagogical con­ cerns about her judgment that were serious enough to justify nonrenewal. Teachers are vulnerable to dismissal when, against school policy, they deliberately refuse to obtain prior approval for supplementary materials.41 Teachers may also be dismissed if they proselytize or conduct religious activities in their class42 or use their classroom as a platform to instigate specific political action by their students.43 One court allowed the dismissal of a teacher who alluded in class to a rumor that two stu­ dents had engaged in sexual intercourse on campus.44 The academic freedom cases have all been lower court decisions. The Supreme Court itself has never held that the First Amendment establishes a right of academic freedom for public school teachers. If the current Supreme Court were to rule on this issue, it is likely that at most a very narrow and limited right to academic freedom would be affirmed. We can infer this result from the Court's decisions in Hazel-wood and in Rust v. Sullivan,45 permitting Congress to bar physicians receiving federal funds from discussing abortion with their patients. In-School, Noncurricular Speech

Schools have broad latitude to determine what and how their teachers will teach; how­ ever, does this mean that schools can control the content of everything that teachers say while they are at work or in the presence of students? Or do teachers have the right to express their personal views to colleagues and students, for example, by wearing an armband or button or distributing literature on their free time? A majority of the courts that have considered these issues have recognized the exis­ tence of in-school, noncurricular speech not subject to the same level of control as cur­ ricular speech. In deciding disputes over teacher in-school, noncurricular speech, most cases have applied the approach first developed for use with students in Tinker v. Des Moines (see sec. 3.2): A teacher's speech is protected as long as it does not materially and substantially disrupt the school and its operations. Thus, in Texas State Teachers Ass 'n v. Garland Independent School District,46 the court agreed with the plaintiffs that it was unconstitutional for the school to prohibit teachers from engaging in discus­ sions concerning any teacher union or organization "on school premises during school hours, even though those discussions occur during lunch hour or other non-class time." It was also unconstitutional for the school to forbid teachers to use the school's intra­ mural mail system to distribute union-related information because there was no gen­ eral prohibition against using the system for personal messages nor any material and substantial disruption of the school. However, the court did note that it would be a vio­ lation of the Texas constitution's prohibition against giving public funds to a private

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organization if the district were to permit employees to engage in union promotional activities on a "release time" basis. James v. Board of Education of Central District No. I41 differs from Garland inthat the teacher' s speech took place in the classroom. Like Tinker, the case concerned an in­ dividual, but this time a teacher, who wore a black armband in school to protest U.S. in­ volvement in the Vietnam War. When James refused his administrator's order to remove the armband, he was suspended and eventually fired by the school board. The board justified its action by arguing that all teacher speech occurring during a class is curricular speech over which the school has broad control. The court, however, took a different view. Although agreeing with the board's claim of control over the curriculum and with the principle that teachers cannot claim the right to substitute political proselytizing or indoctrination for carrying out their assigned duties, the court nevertheless found the firing unconstitutional. The court noted that there was no hint of disruption caused by James' actions nor any reason to expect disruption. Most importantly, wearing the armband did not in any way inter­ fere with James' ability to carry out his teaching functions. For the firing to be justi­ fied, said the court, "school authorities must demonstrate a reasonable basis for concluding that the teacher's conduct threatens to impair their legitimate interests in regulating the school curriculum." However, James had made no attempt to prosely­ tize his students and since the mature eleventh graders whom James taught under­ stood that the armband was only a symbol of the teacher's personal views, the curriculum was not disrupted. Furthermore, the board had engaged in viewpoint dis­ crimination because it had permitted another teacher to display a slogan supportive of U.S. foreign policy and, in firing James, had cast a "pall of orthodoxy" over the classroom in direct violation of the principles announced by the Supreme Court in Tinker. In a case whose facts bear some similarities to James, the Ninth Circuit ruled against a teacher who was prohibited from posting materials on his school bulletin board in opposition to Gay and Lesbian Awareness Month. The school had posted materials promoting observance of the event, and it had permitted other teachers to post their own supporting materials in favor of the school's position. The court ruled that the school had not created a public forum because the principal retained control over the bulletin board (that is the crucial difference between this case and James). In permitting some materials and prohibiting others, the school was deciding what it wished to say and what it wished not to say. Citing Hazelwood, the court noted that the school is not required to be content-neutral with regard to speech that bears the "imprimatur" of the school.48 The case might have been different if the teacher had been prohibited from expressing his opposing view in a forum that was not school controlled, for example, in an after-school conversation with other teachers.

7.3

PRIVACY, MORALITY, AND LIFESTYLE

There are two types of privacy issues that can lead to conflict between a school and its teachers. The first type of issue arises when schools seek to control the personal lifestyle choices and behaviors of their teachers. The second arises when schools

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seek to acquire information about their teachers that the teachers do not wish the schools to have. Many states' statutes authorize dismissing a teacher for "immorality" or "unpro­ fessional" conduct (see sec. 8.4). These somewhat vague categories seem to autho­ rize firing for behavior and lifestyle choices that the community or school board deems wrong or unfitting for teachers. However, some personal choices, no matter how a community might view them, are protected by the derived constitutional right to privacy. 49 This does not mean that the Constitution provides teachers abso­ lute immunity from discharge for lifestyle choices. It does mean, however, that if the right of privacy is implicated, the school must have an especially good reason for the dismissal. There is no firm definition or rule to draw a distinction between protected and un­ protected lifestyle choices. One court upheld a school's dress code requiring that male teachers wear ties to class. A teacher objected claiming he had a First Amend­ ment free speech right and a liberty right under the Fourteenth Amendment to do his job without a tie. In support of his First Amendment claim, the teacher said that his refusal to wear a tie "made a statement on current affairs which assists him in his teaching." The court found this claim of symbolic speech to be vague and unfocused and that the teacher had other more effective means of communicating his social views to his students: "He could, for example, simply have told them his views on contemporary America; if he had done this in a temperate way, without interfering with his teaching duties, we would be confronted with a very different First Amend­ ment case." Balancing the teacher's First Amendment claim against the board's in­ terest "in promoting respect for authority and traditional values, as well as discipline in the classroom, by requiring teachers to dress in a professional manner," the court found that the dress code was a rational means to promote these goals. Regarding the Fourteenth Amendment claim, the court concluded that the liberty in­ terest not to wear a tie was not of great constitutional weight. "As public servants in a special position of trust, teachers may properly be subjected to many restrictions in their professional lives which would be invalid if generally applied." The court noted that the rule did not affect teachers' appearance when they were off duty.50 Likewise, most courts will uphold dress regulations for teachers unless they are arbitrary and un­ reasonable. Thus, the dismissal of a teacher who refused to stop wearing short skirts to school was upheld.51 A minority of courts has recognized a teacher's hairstyle as a protected interest and permitted regulation only if necessary to avoid disruption of the school or advance some other compelling educational purpose.52 In one such case, three teachers brought a successful suit on privacy and equal protection grounds against a school rule control­ ling male hair styles and prohibiting facial hair.53 However, most courts have said that hairstyle and grooming regulations are permissible unless the teacher can establish that the requirements are not rationally related to a legitimate purpose of the school—a burden that teachers usually cannot meet.54 A series of Supreme Court opinions has established the principle that government policies affecting family, marriage, and procreation are impermissible unless neces­ sary to the achievement of a compelling state interest. Based on this principle, the Court has rejected laws prohibiting the use of contraception, banning all abortions, and

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barring people with unmet child-support obligations from marrying.55 In general, schools may regulate teacher behavior in these areas only if regulation is necessary to achieve a very important educational purpose. In one case, a federal court concluded that a school district could not refuse to rehire a teacher because of her divorce: "[M]atters involving marriage and family relationships involve privacy rights that are constitutionally protected."56 There are, however, some situations in which school regulation of teacher marital relationships is constitutionally permissible. In one case, a federal court backed a school district's decision not to rehire a teacher whose wife had assaulted him vio­ lently and burst into his classroom to threaten his life. The court denied that the right to marry gave the teacher a right "to engage in domestic altercations in the classroom of a public high school," especially "potentially explosive and dangerous" altercations.57 Another court permitted a school district to transfer a teacher who married her assistant principal. The district had a policy prohibiting any employee supervising a near rela­ tive, and the court concluded that the policy served to preclude the "perception of fa­ voritism on the part of other members of the teaching faculty."58 In another case, the school district went even further when it did not renew a high school principal's con­ tract because he married a teacher in his school. Despite the fact that the district's ef­ fort to avoid conflicts of interest and favoritism deeply affected the right to marry, the court ruled the policy did not offend the Constitution.59 What then is the constitutionality of dismissing a teacher for committing adultery? Some courts have rejected dismissal for adultery even in disapproving communities but generally not on constitutional grounds.60 However, in Hollenbaugh v. Carnegie Free Library, 61 the Supreme Court refused to review a case that had sustained the dis­ missal of two library employees for living together in open adultery.62 Notorious or open adultery, it appears, is simply not a constitutionally protected right. The courts have, however, protected unwed mothers from dismissal, rejecting claims that the teachers' presence in the classroom would serve as a bad role model and encourage sexual activity on the part of the students.63 The constitutionality of dismissing a teacher for homosexuality is not fully decided. One court ruled that the Constitution permitted dismissal of a teacher who revealed her homosexuality to other school employees;64 however, another court found imper­ missibly overbroad a state statute that permitted dismissing a teacher for "advocating, soliciting, imposing, encouraging or promoting public or private homosexual activity that creates a substantial risk that such conduct will come to the attention of schoolchil­ dren or school employees."65 Several cases have upheld the constitutionality of dis­ missing teachers for engaging in homosexual acts in public or making homosexual advances to other adults at school.66 However, a federal district court in Ohio ruled that firing a teacher simply for being gay violated the teacher's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the law.67 In the absence of controlling federal court rulings, we can only speculate about the constitutionality of dismissing a teacher for homosexual orientation or actually prac­ ticing gay sex in a nonpublic, nonnotorious way. Regarding homosexual orientation, we believe it is clear that such a dismissal would be unconstitutional. As shown in Sec­ tion 7.1, the Constitution affords broad protection to people's beliefs, feelings, prefer­ ences, and desires. The issue of dismissal for actually practicing gay sex is a little less

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clear, but the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling that states may not classify homosexual sex as a crime68 suggests that dismissal might also be impermissible. At minimum, the 2003 ruling eliminates the possibility of schools dismissing gay teachers on the grounds that they are poor role models because they committed a crime (see sec. 8.4). A number of school district regulations limiting employee lifestyle choices have been challenged on constitutional grounds: The Fifth Circuit upheld a school policy prohibiting substantial outside employment during the school year, finding it reason­ ably related to the school's interest in ensuring that teachers devote their professional energies to the education of children.69 The Supreme Court allowed a school district policy requiring their employees to live in the district.70 Several courts have prohibited the dismissal of public-school classified employees for enrolling their children in pri­ vate segregated schools.71 Another court reached the opposite conclusion.72 The Family and Medical Leave Act73 seeks "to balance the demands of the work­ place with the needs of families; and to promote national interest in preserving fam­ ily integrity." The Act "entitles employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, or parent, who has a serious health condition." The term "child" includes biological, adopted, and foster children, stepchildren, and legal wards. The Act applies to public school dis­ tricts and private schools with fifty or more employees at any one site. Employees are covered once they have worked for at least a year, provided that they worked at least 1,250 hours during the year prior to the leave. Employees may take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave within a twelve-month period. The employee may take the leave intermittently (e.g., a day or two at a time), or as a reduced work week. The leave arrangement has to be coordinated with the employer unless it is a "medical ne­ cessity." Teachers or others whose absence would disrupt the instructional program of the school are subject to special provisions. When a teacher requests a leave that is "foreseeable based on planned medical treatment" and when the teacher would be on leave for more than twenty percent of the total work days during an instructional pe­ riod, the school may require that the leave be taken for a particular time period not to exceed the planned medical treatment or require the employee to temporarily trans­ fer to an alternative position. Investigation, Surveillance, and Searches of Teachers Schools may have a variety of reasons for seeking information about their teachers. In order to protect their students and avoid liability for negligent hiring or retention (see sec. 10.5), schools may wish to inquire into the behavior of current and pro­ spective teachers, particularly with regard to criminality and sexual or other mis­ conduct involving children. In order to assess their fitness for work, schools may want to learn about the mental or physical health of or the use of drugs by current or prospective teachers (see sec. 7.6). To make sure that teachers are not shirking their duties or engaging in misconduct, schools may want to use open or hidden elec­ tronic surveillance techniques or monitor teachers use of e-mail or the Internet on the school's computer system. The need for investigation may be particularly strong with regard to teacher behaviors that the school is legally obligated to try to prevent such as racial and sexual harassment (see sec. 7.4) or for which schools may

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be held legally liable such as copyright infringements (see sec. 2.7) and inadequate supervision of students (see sec. 10.4) or when there has been an allegation of wrongdoing. Whatever the motivation, the collection and disclosure by schools of information about their teachers raises a variety of legal issues. The Fourteenth Amendment's protection of personal privacy (discussed earlier in this section) prohibits schools from inquiring into areas of personal behavior like marriage and sex unless they have a compelling reason to do so. The need to protect students from teacher misconduct can provide the necessary reason as in Flaskamp v. Dearborn Public Schools,74 in which a federal court allowed a school district to inquire into the post-graduation re­ lationship between a female teacher and one of her former pupils. In cases like these, whether they involve the collection of information or its disclosure to the public, courts must balance the privacy interests of the teacher against the needs of the school and public. 75 Daury v. Smith16 concerned a school principal ordered to submit to a psychiatric ex­ amination as a condition of being rehired. The principal had been involved in physical altercations with other administrators and with a child, had been the subject of numer­ ous parental complaints, and had admitted to suffering from stress. In finding that the required examination did not violate the principal's right to privacy, the court empha­ sized that the school board's action was aimed at ensuring the safety of the students and teachers within the school. "A school [board]," wrote the court, "may justifiably com­ pel a teacher or administrator to submit to a psychiatric examination as a condition of continued employment if the [board] has reason to believe that the teacher or adminis­ trator may be jeopardizing the welfare of students under his or her supervision." The court also noted that the psychiatrist's report had not been made public and that the principal had been reinstated upon receiving a favorable report. However, the court went on to suggest that had the school board attempted to obtain personal information about the principal from the psychiatrist for reasons unrelated to the welfare of the stu­ dents, the principal's privacy rights would have been violated. In addition to the con­ stitutional limitations discussed in Daury, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act place statutory limitations on the authority of schools to order their applicants and employees to undergo medical and psychiatric examina­ tions (see sec. 7.6) as do the statutes of some states.77 All states have Open Records laws requiring that records of public entities like school districts be open to public scrutiny subject to certain exceptions. When a school district receives a request for information under an Open Records law, the district must either comply or assert that a specific exemption prohibits it from disclosing the infor­ mation. Records regarding an ongoing investigation of teacher misconduct may be subject to an exemption that covers preliminary drafts and recommendations as op­ posed to completed documents and decisions. Some teacher personnel files may be covered by a "personal privacy" exemption. As noted in Section 7.1, the First Amendment's protection of the right of freedom of association has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to prohibit school boards from requiring teachers to disclose their associational ties and memberships.78 Schools may not retaliate against teachers who refuse to say whether they are a member of a particu­ lar group. Teachers may also invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimi-

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nation in refusing to answer employers' questions that might lead to criminal prosecutions against them.79 An older Supreme Court case suggests that the invocation of the Fifth Amendment may be treated by the employer as the basis of a dismissal for insubordination;80 however, subsequent Supreme Court decisions, although not ex­ plicitly overruling this precedent, suggest that employers may not dismiss employees for invoking their Fifth Amendment rights.81 But if a teacher has been granted immu­ nity from criminal prosecution, a refusal to answer questions on matters of legitimate concern to the school may be treated as insubordination (see sec. 8.4). Search and Seizure The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. New Jersey v. T.L.O. established the principle that public schools may only search students if they have reasonable suspicion that the search will reveal evidence of wrongdoing (see sec. 4.3). But does the same principle apply to teachers and other school employees? Although it occurred in a hospital rather than a school, the case most relevant to this issue is O 'Connor v. Ortega.82 In that case, a doctor objected to his employer's search of his office in a public hospital. Although the case produced no majority opinion, only a nonprecedent-setting plurality opinion, a majority of the justices did agree that the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure does extend to public employees. The plurality opinion suggests that the Fourth Amendment ap­ plies only to areas where an employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy, a deter­ mination that must be made on a case-by-case basis. Employees do have reasonable expectations of privacy with regard to personal closed containers such as handbags, locked luggage, and briefcases. However, an employee's expectation of privacy re­ garding desks, lockers, and filing cabinets "may be reduced by actual office practices and procedures, or by legitimate regulation." The more other employees and supervi­ sors have access to these areas, the less the expectation of privacy. Even if a public em­ ployee has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the employer may still conduct a search if the search is "reasonable": Ordinarily, a search of an employee's office by a supervisor will be "justified at its in­ ception" when there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the employee is guilty of work-related misconduct, or that the search is necessary for a noninvestigatory work-related purpose such as to retrieve a needed file.... The search will be permissible in its scope when "the measures adopted are rea­ sonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of ... the nature of the [misconduct]."

The plurality and concurring opinion in Ortega indicate that the majority of the Court would accept reasonable intrusions into a protected area for routine work-related pur­ poses such as to hunt for needed supplies or to uncover evidence of work-related mal­ feasance. Because Ortega occurred in a nonschool setting and because the case produced no majority opinion, it does not fully settle the application of the Fourth Amendment to educators. Nevertheless, it does seem clear that school employees have reasonable ex­

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pectations of privacy in their handbags, briefcases, and other personal packages brought to school. To the extent that desks, filing cabinets, storage areas, and lockers are shared with other employees, no reasonable expectation of privacy would exist. Where an expectation of privacy does exist, the requirements of the Fourth Amend­ ment apply so a search may only be conducted in accordance with the "reasonable grounds" test quoted previously. School examination of teacher e-mail sent or received on the school's computer system raises a number of legal issues, most not fully decided. Messages sent to or from a general school account as opposed to a personal, password-protected account may be deemed in "plain view" and therefore not entitled to Fourth Amendment pro­ tection, as may messages disseminated to a wide audience or chat room. Messages sent to a supervisor have been voluntarily disclosed so they also receive no Fourth Amend­ ment protection.83 Messages between individuals sent from or to a teacher's personal account should be treated like telephone messages; schools can examine them only if the Ortega criteria are met.84 It is probably not permissible for a school to require teachers to waive Fourth Amendment rights if they wish to have access to their school's e-mail or computer system.85 The federal statute known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA)86 generally prohibits the interception of messages sent by telephone or e-mail.87 The use of electronic surveillance also raises both Fourth Amendment and statu­ tory issues. In one case, a school placed a hidden camera in a "break" room to deter­ mine if the custodians were slacking off. The court ruled there was no Fourth amendment violation because the custodians did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a break room available to all. The court also said that even if the Fourth Amendment did apply, the search was reasonable because the school had evidence that the custodians were slacking during the hours when the cameras were in operation.88 Employees have a legitimate expectation of privacy in private restrooms or private areas of public restrooms.89 Devices that record sound are covered by ECPA, but when visibly placed in work areas, they do not violate the statutes. Drug testing of teachers is a search for Fourth Amendment purposes. If school offi­ cials have reasonable grounds to suspect that a teacher is intoxicated or possesses drugs or alcohol at school, required testing does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Thus, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the testing of a teacher after drug-sniffing dogs de­ tected drugs in the teacher's car and a subsequent search of the car revealed marijuana in the ashtray.90 Random drug testing of employees in the absence of individualized suspicion raises a much more difficult issue. In Independent School District No. 1 of Tulsa County v. Logan,91 the court found that requiring school bus drivers to undergo annual "toxicological urinalysis" was not "unreasonable under the fourth amend­ ment.... (T)he school district has a sufficient safety interest in maintaining a pool of bus drivers free from the effects of drug use to require drug screening as part of the an­ nual physical examination without a particularized suspicion of drug use directed at any one individual employee ,..."92 The same reasoning might justify random testing of shop or driver education teach­ ers, but do most teachers occupy "safety-sensitive" positions? The highest state court of New York concluded that a school district's mandatory drug testing of all probation­ ary teachers was an impermissible infringement of their Fourth Amendment rights.93

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But after deciding that teaching is a safety-sensitive occupation with a diminished ex­ pectation of privacy, the Sixth Circuit upheld a school's program of random drug test­ ing of teachers.94 And the Fifth Circuit upheld a school's mandatory drug-testing requirement for custodians.95 The federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 198996 re­ quires that schools receiving federal assistance establish programs for both employees and students designed to prevent drug and alcohol abuse. Schools must annually dis­ tribute written materials specifying that it is unlawful to possess or distribute illicit drugs and alcohol, describing the legal sanctions for violation of the law, explaining the health risks associated with drugs and alcohol, listing available counseling pro­ grams, and warning that the school will impose its own sanctions for possession and use. The statute does not require districts to institute drug testing, but it does require enforcement of sanctions against those employees and students who violate drug and alcohol rules. 7.4

RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER

Adverse employment decisions may lead to claims of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, or religion. Plaintiffs may challenge an allegedly in­ equitable salary structure or a decision not to hire or promote, or to transfer, demote, or fire. Litigation of this kind may be based on the Equal Protection Clause or, more fre­ quently, on one or more federal statutes prohibiting specific forms of discrimination and other unfair employment practices. Many cases are brought on both constitutional and statutory grounds in order to maximize the chances of winning and the potential monetary award. Compliance with the statutes usually ensures compliance with con­ stitutional mandates, but in some situations the Equal Protection Clause or another constitutional provision imposes more stringent requirements. Some states have state constitutional and statutory provisions that give protection against discrimination in employment. Occasionally, these provisions are more stringent than federal law. The rest of this section considers issues of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Sections 7.5 to 7.7 examine the law concerning discrimination based on re­ ligion, disability, and age, respectively. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination in public and pri­ vate employment on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, or national origin.97 The Civil Rights Act of 1991 supplements Title VII with additional antidiscrimination requirements.98 Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also prohibits gender discrimi­ nation in employment.99 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978100 prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy and specifies that Title VII's prohibition of discrimination on the basis of gender includes discrimination on the basis of "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions."101 The federal agency charged with enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Em­ ployment discrimination complaints must be filed first with the EEOC or a related state fair-employment agency. If the EEOC ultimately fails to act or chooses not to take legal action, the employee may then go to court with a private suit.

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Title VII states: It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer—(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin....102

There is disagreement as to whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex­ ual orientation; most federal courts that have considered the issue hold that it does not.103 The outline that follows lists the major categories of cases—whether based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin—that may be brought under Title VII. The sub­ sections that follow the outline explain each category or case, including how the law al­ locates the burden of proof between the employee and employer and the kind of evidence each may be asked to produce. I. Disparate treatment of an individual A. overt 1. bona fide occupational qualification 2. affirmative action B. covert or hidden motive C. mixed motive II. Pattern or practice A. disparate treatment B. disparate impact III. Sexual and racial harassment A. quid pro quo B. hostile environment Disparate Treatment of an Individual (DTI)

The hallmark of DTI cases is that the employer acted with an intent to discriminate on the basis of race or gender.104 DTI cases may involve either overt or covert discrimina­ tion. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 amends Title VII by allowing DTI plaintiffs to seek not only reversal of the discriminatory decision, costs, and attorney fees but also com­ pensatory damages and to demand a jury trial.105 In overt DTI cases, the employer openly bases a difference in treatment on race or gender. A school might insist, for example, that a coach for girls' sports be female and thus, refuse to hire an otherwise qualified male. In cases like these, there is no need for the complaining party to establish that gender or race was a criterion in the employ­ ment decision because it is admitted. The crucial issue is whether the school has an ad­ equate reason for using the criterion. Title VII explicitly permits gender to be the basis of a hiring decision when gender is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ). Race can never be a BFOQ. The Su­ preme Court has said that the BFOQ exception is to be strictly limited to cases where an employee of a specific gender is "reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a particular business or enterprise."106 In a case rejecting the exclusion of women from

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telephone line repair, the court said that the central question was whether the employer "had a factual basis for believing that all or substantially all women would be unable to perform safely and efficiently the duties of the job involved."107 In another case, the court held that gender could be a criterion in the hiring of a night security officer at a university because rape victims would be more comfortable reporting an attack to a fe­ male counselor.108 Analogous reasoning might justify same-sex counselors at a school birth control clinic. A few other school jobs such as positions requiring supervision of a locker room or lavatory might also have gender as a BFOQ. Another type of overt DTI case challenges the use of an affirmative action pro­ gram. Affirmative action programs seek to remedy past discrimination by giving pref­ erence to a particular gender or race. Objections to an affirmative action employment program may be brought under Title VII or the Equal Protection Clause. In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green,109 the Supreme Court fashioned the following three-step framework for dealing with cases brought under Title VII: 1. The complainant... must carry the initial burden under the statute of establishing a prima facie case [proof that will suffice unless refuted by other evidence] of racial dis­ crimination. This may be done by showing (i) that he belongs to a racial minority; (ii) that he applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer is seeking applicants; (iii) that, despite his qualifications, he was rejected; and (iv) that, after his rejection, the posi­ tion remained open and the employer continued to seek applications from persons of complainant's qualifications.... 2. The burden then must shift to the employer to articulate some legitimate, nondis­ criminatory reason for the employee's rejection. 3. Once the employer has offered its explanation, the employee must show that the de­ fense is pretextual for intentional wrongful discrimination.

In Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County,110 the male plaintiff complained that he was more qualified than the female who was promoted and that he was denied the promotion because he was male. However, the Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action plan adopted by the Transportation Agency in order to increase the number of women employed as "skill craft workers." The Court agreed that there existed a "manifest imbalance" that reflected underrepresentation of women in a job category that was "traditionally segregated." The Court also noted that gender was but one factor in the hiring decision, that the plan was temporary, and that there were no quotas. Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education111 was an affirmative action case brought at about the same time as Johnson, but was based on the Equal Protection Clause rather than Title VII. In Wygant, a school district faced with the need to decrease the size of its staff had retained recently hired minority teachers while laying off more senior White teachers. Preference for job retention was given solely on the basis of race with no con­ sideration of other criteria such as merit. The lower courts had approved the district's actions as a reasonable way to promote the legitimate goal of providing role models for minority pupils, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision. The Court noted that the standard of "reasonableness" applied by the lower courts was not the correct test for deciding this case. Rather, a race-based affirmative action plan, like any classification based on race, must be subjected to strict scrutiny. To pass constitutional muster, racial

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classification "must be justified by a compelling governmental interest" and "nar­ rowly tailored to the achievement of that goal." (See chap. 5.) Applying this standard to the facts in Wygant, the Supreme Court could find no compelling governmental interest to justify the affirmative action plan. Schools do not have a compelling interest in ensuring that the racial makeup of the staff is simi­ lar to that of the student body. If they did, an all-White school would be justified in rejecting Black teaching applicants solely on the basis of race. If a school has an ob­ ligation to remedy past discrimination in hiring, an affirmative action plan that fa­ vored the formerly disadvantaged race might pass strict scrutiny, but that was not the case in Wygant. Furthermore, the Court indicated that it would be more likely to accept an affirmative action plan related to hiring than one giving preferential treatment in lay-offs. In the former case, the "burden ... is diffused to a consider­ able extent on society generally," while in the latter it is borne by specific "inno­ cent individuals." The reasoning in Wygant suggests that if the Johnson case had been brought under the Equal Protection Clause instead of Title VII, the result would have been reversed. This makes no legal sense because a statute cannot authorize a government action that is impermissible under the Constitution. The Supreme Court clarified the situation somewhat in Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co.112 by ruling that public employer affirma­ tive action plans are constitutionally permissible only when: (a) undertaken to correct identifiable past racial discrimination by the very employer adopting the plan (not to redress the effects of past societal racial discrimination), (b) necessary to correct the past discrimination because racially neutral policies will not work, and (c) narrowly tailored to correct the past discrimination without aiding people who have not been dis­ criminated against or unnecessarily harming innocent people. The Third Circuit applied these criteria to a Title VII case in ruling against a school district that, in response to a financial crisis, used race as the criterion for laying off a White teacher instead of a Black teacher with equal seniority. The court rejected the district's affirmative action plan because it was not designed to remedy past discrimi­ nation but rather as a way to achieve a desired level of faculty diversity, it was not suffi­ ciently limited in time or scope, and the harm imposed on the innocent White teacher was substantial.113 Although the case was never heard by the Supreme Court because the parties agreed to settle, we believe that the Court would have agreed with the Third Circuit that public employer affirmative action plans are permissible under Title VII only if they meet the Richmond criteria. In any case, public school affirmative action plans must comply with the Richmond criteria in order not to violate the Equal Protec­ tion Clause. School affirmative action plans designed to achieve desired diversity in the teach­ ing staff to rectify a long history of racial discrimination in society in general now appear to be unconstitutional; however, affirmative action plans may be permissible in school districts that have been guilty of racial discrimination in their employment practices in the past. Affirmative action plans that include race-based transfers of teachers among schools may also be used as one element of a court-ordered desegrega­ tion plan; however, once desegregation has been achieved and the district declared "unitary" by a court, a school district may not continue to make employment decisions on the basis of race (see sec. 5.4).114

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In affirmative action and other overt DTI cases, plaintiffs do not have to prove that employment decisions were based on race because it is admitted. In covert or hidden motive DTI cases, plaintiffs allege that considerations of race or gender affected hir­ ing, firing, promotion, pay, or other employment decisions but there is no direct proof. Plaintiffs bear the burden of convincing the court that the employer intended to dis­ criminate. The determination is made by using the three-part McDonnell Douglas framework introduced earlier. Plaintiffs bear the initial burden of making a prima facie case of discriminatory intent. Plaintiffs need only show that they were rejected for a position for which they were qualified; they do not have to establish that they were the most qualified candidate or even as qualified as the person who was selected.115 If the plaintiff succeeds, then the employer may attempt to refute the prima facie case by of­ fering a nondiscriminatory reason for the decision. The employer need not persuade the court that it was actually motivated by the proffered reason but need only raise a genuine question regarding what motivated the action.116 If the employer does so, then the plaintiff may attempt to show that the employer's reason was a pretext to justify intentional discrimination. In 1993, the Supreme Court explained the application of the framework to covert DTI cases as follows: Assuming then that the employer has met its burden of producing a nondiscriminatory reason for its actions, the focus of proceedings ... will be on whether the jury could infer discrimination from the combination of (1) the plaintiff's prima facie case; (2) any evi­ dence the plaintiff presents to attack the employer's proffered explanation for its actions; and (3) any further evidence of discrimination that may be available to the plaintiff (such as independent evidence of discriminatory statements or attitudes on the part of the em­ ployer) or any contrary evidence that may be available to the employer (such as evidence of a strong track record in equal opportunity employment).117

The most common method of proving pretext is to show that similarly situated per­ sons of a different race or gender than the plaintiff received more favorable treatment (e.g., if a school district dismissed a Black employee for improperly using sick leave but did not discipline a White employee guilty of similar conduct118). Pretext may also be established if the proffered reason is simply false (e.g., if a school district lays off a Hispanic teacher, claiming a budget short-fall that does not in fact exist119). A showing that the employer's reasons are pretextual is usually, but not always, suffi­ cient to support a finding of discrimination depending on the overall strength of the plaintiff's case. 120 In Ridler v. Olivia Public School System No. 653,121 a male applicant turned down for a job as a school cook brought a sex discrimination suit against the school. Ridler made his prima facie case by showing that he was a member of a protected class (gen­ der) and that he had sought the job, that he was trained as a cook and had had several jobs as a cook (including related large-scale cooking in the National Guard), that de­ spite his qualifications he was not interviewed for the job (in fact none of the male ap­ plicants were interviewed), and that the job was offered to a woman. The woman who was ultimately hired had no formal training in cooking, and her experience was lim­ ited to substitute work at the school and volunteer work at her church. The school of­ fered as its nondiscriminatory reason that it had chosen the woman based on considerations of previous experience as a cook (especially for a large number of

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people), previous employment in the school district, and the applicants' work record and dependability. The school claimed that in light of these criteria the male appli­ cants were less qualified. Ridler, however, was able to establish that this explanation was a pretext for inten­ tional discrimination. The record showed that the district had never hired a male cook and that generally several other job categories in the district were segregated by sex. The head cook referred to a position in the kitchen as "sandwich girl." The requirement that candidates have experience in the district had an illegitimate discriminatory effect because the school had never hired a male cook and, in any case, was an "after-thefact" rationalization: The application form did not request information regarding this criterion, one interviewed applicant had no substitute cooking experience with the school, and the district did not interview another applicant who did have such experi­ ence. Furthermore, the district had acted inconsistently regarding the work-record cri­ terion: Ridler was not interviewed despite his work in the National Guard, but a female candidate with no work record outside the home was interviewed. The district also ap­ plied the reliability criterion inconsistently when it interviewed a female applicant with a record of job stability no better than Ridler's. So, the court found that the school had discriminated against Ridler on the basis of gender in violation of Title VII and awarded him damages and attorney fees. Plaintiffs can cite many factors as evidence of intent to discriminate: (a) inconsis­ tent application of employment criteria (e.g., asking women about family responsibili­ ties but not men), (b) exclusive use of subjective criteria, (c) selective judgments made by evaluators of all one race or sex, (d) lack of objective proof that evidence was col­ lected to support subjective judgments, (e) ad hoc tailoring of criteria in order to prede­ termine the outcome of a personnel decision, (f) establishment of job criteria that are not truly necessary job requirements, (g) proof that the plaintiff was objectively better qualified than the person selected, and (h) statistical evidence of a pattern in similar de­ cisions. This does not mean that Title VII requires an employer to hire or promote the objec­ tively most qualified employee. Subjective criteria may enter into the decision-making process as long as they are legitimate, nondiscriminatory judgments related to the requirements of the job. 122 A school board is not restricted to hiring the candidates with the highest grades in college or the highest scores on a teacher's exam. Title VII specifically forbids discrimination against employees because of opposi­ tion to practices made unlawful by Title VII, because the employee filed a suit charg­ ing the employer with discrimination, or because the employee participated in an investigation or proceeding dealing with employer discrimination. In retaliatory dis­ charge cases, the plaintiff asserts that an adverse employment decision was made be­ cause the plaintiff asserted legal claims under Title VII. A modified version of the McDonnell Douglas framework is used in these cases. To make the prima facie case, plaintiffs must prove that they were engaged in a protected activity such as asserting rights under Title VII, they suffered adversely for it, and there was a causal link be­ tween the protected activity and the employment decision.123 In mixed motive DTI cases, the plaintiff establishes that an employment decision was made partially because of a discriminatory reason. For example, a school may have had a preference for a male science teacher, but the female plaintiff may also have

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been less qualified or experienced than the successful male applicant. According to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, "an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also moti­ vated the practice." The demonstration may be by direct or circumstantial evidence,124 but the evidence (e.g., derogatory racial comments) must be proven to be related to the challenged decision.125 When the employer is able to demonstrate that the same action would have been taken in the absence of the impermissible motivating factor, the court still may not order reversal of the challenged decision, only cessation of the impermis­ sible practice and attorney fees. Pattern or Practice (PP) In PP cases, either the federal government brings a civil suit charging an employer with a pattern of discrimination against a particular race or gender or other protected group, or members of a protected group initiate a class action suit based on similar allegations. The alleged discrimination may consist of systematic disparate treatment of mem­ bers of the group or of the use of policies that have a disparate impact on the group. PP cases are evaluated using the McDonnell Douglas framework. In disparate treatment PP cases, the plaintiff's prima facie case is usually based on statistics. For example, in a case alleging discrimination against Blacks in a school district's hiring policy, the plaintiff had to show "a statistically significant discrepancy between the racial compo­ sition of the teaching staff and the racial composition of the qualified public school teacher population in the relevant labor market."126 In a case charging a pattern of dis­ crimination in promotions and salary, the plaintiff had to show that with all other variables—such as credentials and experience—held constant, the salary differences between men and women could only be explained by gender discrimination.127 Disparate impact cases "involve employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity."128 For example, a racial or eth­ nic group might challenge the use of tests for hiring teachers that exclude a dispropor­ tionate number of minority candidates. Foreign-born candidates might challenge a preference for hiring teachers who speak unaccented English or who obtained their credentials in the United States. A woman might object to the practice—still found in some school districts—of seeking superintendents with nonworking spouses. (How­ ever, rules prohibiting the hiring of spouses of employees are permissible even if they have a disparate impact on one gender.129) The use of a selection committee dispropor­ tionately comprised of one race or gender might also lead to a disparate impact claim especially if the selection criteria are primarily subjective.130 In disparate impact cases, unlike disparate treatment cases, intent to discriminate need not be proved. Disparate impact cases may not be brought under the Equal Protection Clause because the Su­ preme Court has said that disparate impact is not per se unconstitutional.131 According to Title VII, to make a prima facie disparate impact case, the plaintiff must establish that the employer uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on a protected group, for example, a preemployment test that "selects

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applicants for hire or promotion in a racial [or gender] pattern significantly different from that of the pool of applicants."132 What counts as a significant difference is a mat­ ter of some controversy, but plaintiffs must demonstrate—often with statistics—a real difference that would have been unlikely to occur by chance. Once the prima facie case has been made, the employer may defend itself by showing that the challenged practice is "job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity."133 Although the precise meaning of this phrase is not clear, a plausible interpretation is that the challenged practice must have a significant, not just trivial, relation to the job. For example, an employer might argue for the validity of a strength test in a job requir­ ing the loading of heavy packages by hand even though the test excluded most female candidates. The third and final stage in disparate impact cases affords the plaintiff the opportu­ nity to prevail by establishing pretext. The plaintiff must convince the court that the challenged practice unnecessarily disadvantages the protected group because it does not in fact aid the employer's business in any significant way. This can be done by showing that the challenged practice does not select the employees best able to serve the employer's legitimate (nondiscriminatory) business purposes, or by demonstrat­ ing the availability of other not excessively costly tests or selection devices that would serve the employer's legitimate interests equally well without the disparate impact and that the employer refuses to adopt.134 Disparate impact has been the basis of several cases challenging standardized test­ ing of teachers for purposes of initial cerification or job retention. Plaintiffs have often prevailed in these cases because either the test was misused or the test itself or the cut­ off score was not properly validated.135 However, in United States v. South Carolina,136 the court upheld the use of the National Teacher's exam to certify teachers and set teacher pay scales. Gender discrimination in compensation is illegal both under Title VII and under an­ other federal statute, the Equal Pay Act.137 This law is violated when unequal wages are paid to men and women for "equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and which are performed under similar working conditions." A difference in pay, however, can be justified by four defenses: a senior­ ity system, a merit pay system, a system that measures pay by quality and quantity of production, or any other factor not based on sex. The most common equal-pay issue in education is paying male and female coaches different salaries. Resolution depends on actual job content, not job descriptions, regarding such matters as amount of time worked.138 Fringe benefits such as health and pension plans must also be provided on a nondiscriminatory basis.139 Sexual and Racial Harassment The regulations implementing Title VII define sexual harassment as follows: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical con­ duct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment,

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(2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for em­ ployment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or ef­ fect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.140

As the regulations indicate, only behaviors of a sexual nature can constitute sexual harassment. The creation of a generally unpleasant or offensive work atmosphere or nonsexual practical jokes played on all faculty members regardless of gender would not violate Title VII.141 In order for behavior to constitute sexual harassment, it must be unwelcome. The harassed person must not have solicited the behavior and must have communicated to the harasser that the behavior was not desired. Either direct confron­ tation of the harasser or a persistent failure to respond to advances may be sufficient to communicate unwelcomeness.142 That a person may have welcomed some sexual ad­ vances or conduct does not mean that all such behaviors are welcome. However, some courts do not view a supervisor's retaliation against an employee who terminates a consensual sexual relationship as sexual harassment.143 Behavior by a member of the same sex is covered by Title VII as long as it fits the definition of harassment.144 So is harassment that is based on the victim's failure to conform to a sex-stereotype;145 for example, if a man is seen as effeminate by cowork­ ers. Yet, as noted earlier, some courts do not view harassment based on sexual orienta­ tion as covered by Title VII. Thus, the issue in some cases is whether the harasser actually knew the sexual orientation of the victim. The same act may be impermissible under Title VII if motivated by sex-stereotyping but not prohibited if based on sexual orientation.146 There are two different forms of sexual harassment. In quid-pro-quo harassment, an employee is asked to exchange sex for job benefits, continued employment, or pro­ motion. Most courts require a showing of denial or loss of a tangible employment bene­ fit as part of a prima facie case of quid-pro-quo harassment. Thus, in one case, a teacher lost a sexual harassment suit against her principal because she was not discharged or denied promotion or any other job benefit; she was dismissed only after refusing an offer to transfer to another school.147 Employees who submit to unwelcome sexual ad­ vances must show that they were threatened with adverse consequences in order to make their prima facie case.148 To defend against a charge of quid-pro-quo harassment, the employer may either present a legitimate reason for the adverse employment action or show that the person who committed the harassment was not involved in the adverse decision.149 The employee may then show that the employer's reason is pretextual; for example, by proving that a supervisor rewarded those employees who submitted and punished those who did not.150 Hostile-environment harassment, either sexual or racial, entails the claim that an employee was subjected to an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment because of the employee's sex or race. Although there have been more lawsuits involv­ ing sexual than racial harassment, both generally and in schools, the principles control­ ling both kinds of cases are similar. Both verbal and nonverbal conduct may create a hostile environment but only if (a) the conduct is "sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment,"151 (b) the conduct is offensive (but not necessarily psychologically

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harmful152) to the victim, and (c) a reasonable person would also have been offended by the conduct. To determine whether conduct is sufficiently pervasive or severe to constitute ha­ rassment, courts consider the nature of the conduct (touching is worse than verbal abuse153), the frequency or repetitiveness of the conduct, and the period of time over which the conduct occurred.154 Thus, isolated jokes, inappropriate remarks, or a single sexual proposition or lewd comment (including in one case, the remark, "My penis stretches from here to District 1") is not usually sufficient to establish a hostile environment.155 However, repeated generalized sexist jokes or comments or gender or race-based commentary about a person's appearance or behavior do constitute hostile-environment harassment.156 One court ruled that a single stinging slap on the plain­ tiffs buttocks created a sexually hostile environment.157 Another found that two incidents in which a noose was found hung over an employee's workstation could cre­ ate a racially hostile environment.158 Because the statute is directed at employers, not individuals, educators harassed at work may sue their school district under Title VII but not the harassers themselves. This raises the issue of whether and under what circumstances a school district or other employer will be held responsible for the harassment of an teacher by a supervisor or colleague. With regard to supervisors, the Supreme Court ruled that: An employer is subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) au­ thority over the employee.... No affirmative defense is available ... when the supervisor's harassment culminates in a tangible employment action, such as discharge, demotion, or undesirable reassignment.... [However,] [w]hen no tangible employment action is taken, a defending employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages, subject to proof by a preponderance of the evidence,... The defense comprises two necessary ele­ ments: (a) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) that the plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise. While proof that an employer had promulgated an antiharassment policy with complaint procedure is not necessary in every instance as a matter of law, the need for a stated policy suitable to the employment circumstances may appropriately be addressed in any case when litigating the first element of the defense. And while proof that an employee failed to fulfill the corresponding obligation of reason­ able care to avoid harm is not limited to showing any unreasonable failure to use any com­ plaint procedure provided by the employer, a demonstration of such failure will normally suffice to satisfy the employer's burden under the second element of the defense.159

One court ruled that a teaching intern had been subjected to a "tangible employment action" when, because she rejected her principal's sexual advances, the principal took back art supplies that he had previously given her and wrote a mixed evaluation that caused her to fail her internship. The court also ruled that both the school district and the principal himself (see sec. 10.9) could be sued and forced to pay damages.160 In order to minimize the possibility of liability for harassment by their supervisory employees, school districts should create, publicize, and enforce antiharassment poli­ cies with clearly defined complaint procedures and plans for dealing with allegations of harassment. A school should respond to allegations of harassment as quickly as pos­ sible, usually within hours or, at most, days. The investigation and any necessary reme­

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dial steps should be properly undertaken because a bungled investigation or ineffective remedial steps will not prevent liability. 161 School officials should also carefully document the prompt and appropriate remedial steps they take; not to do so may cause a jury to disbelieve the district's claims that it responded appropriately to a harassment complaint.162 The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether and when an employer is responsi­ ble for sexual or racial harassment of an employee by a colleague. Because one col­ league cannot subject another to an adverse employment decision, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that harassment by a colleague does not fit the Title VII definition of harassment.163 However, other circuits have ruled that employers may be liable under Title VII if supervisors knew about, acquiesced in, or orchestrated the harassment.164 Be­ cause schools have been held liable for not dealing appropriately with known student-on-student harassment (see sec. 5.9), it seems likely that most courts would take the same position regarding employee harassment of colleagues. For this reason and as a matter of ethics, schools should include measures designed to prevent harassment by colleagues in their antiharassment policies. At the same time, in their investigations and responses to allegations of racial or sexual harassment of employees, whether by supervisors or colleagues, school officials should be careful not to violate the constitu­ tional, statutory, or contractual rights of the accused.165

7.5

RELIGION

Teachers who wish to practice their religion, wear religious garb, or otherwise mani­ fest their religious beliefs at school create a difficult constitutional problem. To permit publicly paid teachers in religious clothing to teach a captive audience of impression­ able children runs the risk of violating the Establishment Clause's prohibition against government promotion of religion. Yet, to prohibit teachers from wearing such clothes or taking other actions that are a requirement of their beliefs runs the risk of violating their right to the free exercise of religion. In Cooper v. Eugene School District No. 4J,166 the court upheld the constitutionality of a state law prohibiting public school teachers from wearing "religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher," and the revocation of the teaching certificate of teachers who violate the rule. The rule was challenged by a middle school teacher punished for wearing a white turban as part of her practice of the Sikh religion. The teacher claimed that the rule violated her free exercise rights, but, the court felt that the rule was a legitimate way for schools to maintain religious neutrality. The Coo­ per court was careful to point out that it would not be permissible to fire a teacher for wearing an unobtrusive religious symbol such as a cross on a necklace or for occasion­ ally wearing religious clothes. Only when a teacher's overt and repeated display of re­ ligious garb or symbols might convey the message of school approval or endorsement does the court authorize dismissal. Nevertheless, one might still question whether the case was correctly decided. Is it true that children will perceive the wearing of a turban or yarmulke by a teacher as endorsement by the school of the religious beliefs of the teacher? In any case, how is Cooper's wearing of a white turban to express a religious belief different from the wearing of an armband to express a political belief?

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Related issues arise when teachers seek to distribute religious materials on school grounds or to use school facilities for religious exercises prior to the start of the school day. Although these issues are not fully decided, courts seem likely to permit the prohi­ bition of any activity likely to give the appearance of school endorsement of religion. Therefore, a general ban on the distribution of religious literature by teachers might be permissible under the Free Exercise Clause and under the Establishment Clause, would probably be required (see sec. 2.3 and 2.4). At least one court has suggested that a school that permits teachers to meet informally before school to discuss topics of their own choosing might not be permitted to prohibit teacher prayer meetings, espe­ cially if the students and community are unaware of the meetings.167 A different problem arises when teachers seek exemption from job requirements on free exercise grounds. In one case, a teacher refused to lead her kindergarten class in the pledge of allegiance, patriotic songs, or celebrations of holidays. Basing its analy­ sis on doctrine developed by the Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder,168 the Seventh Circuit ruled that although the teacher's refusal was based on a sincere religious belief, it was not her right to reject the board's officially adopted curriculum.169 In general, a teacher's free-exercise-based challenge to a school's rules or curriculum would be un­ likely to succeed unless the rules or curriculum was adopted for the purpose of prevent­ ing the teacher from satisfying religious mandates. This principle follows from the Supreme Court's current view that the Free Exercise Clause does not relieve an indi­ vidual of the obligation to comply with generally applicable valid laws.170 The desire to celebrate religious holidays sometimes puts teachers at odds with their employers. In one case, a Jewish teacher claimed that the school infringed upon his free exercise of religion when it required him to take personal leave or unpaid leave in order to observe his religious holidays. In contrast, Christian teachers could take their holidays without penalty because the school was closed. The court rejected the teacher's claim, reasoning that because the loss of a day's pay for time not worked did not constitute substantial pressure to modify behavior, the school's policy did not con­ stitute an infringement of religious liberty.171 In another case, the California Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the state constitution to dismiss a teacher for being absent without permission in order to observe a religious holiday. The court said that the district was required to accommodate the teacher's religious needs by allowing a reasonable amount of unpaid leave, five to ten days a year.172 In addition to the Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (see also sec. 7.4) also protects teachers against religious discrimination in employment. The term religion is not defined in Title VII, but the courts have given it a sufficiently broad definition to include not only traditional theistic religions but also a sincere and mean­ ingful belief that plays a role analogous to belief in a god. The regulations of the EEOC state that the Commission will define religious practices to include moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.... The fact that no religious group espouses such beliefs or the fact that the reli­ gious group to which the individual professes to belong may not accept such belief will not determine whether the belief is a religious belief of the employee or prospective employee. 173

DISABILITY

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One court held that Title VII protected an employee's atheistic beliefs and prohibited requiring her to attend employee meetings that included religious ceremonies.174 How­ ever, employee beliefs will not be protected if they are merely personal lifestyle preferences175 or if they are not sincerely held. An employee who claimed he should not work on Sundays lost his Title VII claim when it was shown that in the past he had worked on Sundays.176 Nevertheless, the courts are willing to tolerate a degree of incon­ sistency, recognizing that a person's commitment to religion can grow over time.177 Title VII permits religious schools to discriminate in hiring and other employment decisions on the basis of religion (but not on the basis of race or gender).178 Title VII also recognizes that religion can be a bona fide occupational qualification (see sec. 7.4), which conceivably might justify religious discrimination in some private school employment but never in public schools. Cases alleging covert disparate treatment of individuals on the basis of religion are litigated using the McDonnell Douglas frame­ work discussed in Section 7.4. Title VII requires accommodation of "all aspects of religious observances and prac­ tices as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to accommo­ date an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business." Furthermore, "an employer may not permit an applicant's need for a religious accommodation to affect in any way its decision whether to hire the applicant unless it can demonstrate that it cannot reasonably accommodate the applicant's religious practices without undue hardship." The Supreme Court has defined "undue hardship" as "more than de minimus costs to the employer."179 An inference of discrimination will be drawn if an employer asks an otherwise qualified prospective employee about the need for accom­ modation and then rejects the applicant. Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook 180 concerned a teacher whose religious obligations required him to miss approximately six days of school per year. The contract between the school district and its teachers permitted only three days per year of paid religious leave. The district was willing to accommodate the teacher's religious beliefs by allowing him to take the additional three days off without pay, but the teacher argued that he should be allowed to use days from another category of permissible paid leave and so receive pay for the missed days. The Supreme Court ruled that Title VII only requires an employer to make a reasonable accom­ modation to an employee's religious obligations, not necessarily the accommoda­ tion the employee would prefer. Furthermore, the Court said that unpaid leave will usually be a reasonable accommodation unless paid leave is available for all other purposes except religion.

7.6

DISABILITY

Employees with disabilities are protected by two of the same federal laws that protect children with disabilities (see sec. 6.2). The older of these two laws, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504),181 provides that "no otherwise qualified handicapped indi­ vidual" shall be excluded from participation in a program receiving federal financial

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assistance "solely by reason of his handicap." This law applies only to programs re­ ceiving federal financial assistance. However, the newer law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990,182 is not qualified in this way. Replacing the term handicap with disability, ADA's central provision regarding employment is that no employer "shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in re­ gard to job applications procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employ­ ees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment." Both of these laws apply to people who have "a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more such person's major life activities," have a re­ cord of such an impairment, or are regarded as having such an impairment. The regula­ tions define "major life activities" to include "caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working." The regu­ lations further state that an "impairment is substantially limiting if it significantly re­ stricts the duration, manner or condition under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to the average person." One court ruled that a man who had fractured his hip and subsequently walked with a limp, had trouble climbing stairs, and could walk only about a mile without a cane was not substantially limited with regard to the major life activity of walking.183 For a disability to count as substantially limiting a person's ability to work, the dis­ ability must affect the ability to "perform either a class of jobs or a broad range of jobs in various classes as compared to the average person having comparable training, skills and abilities." Relying on this regulation, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that an in­ continent teacher was not covered by the ADA because she had not shown that she could not perform a broad range or class of jobs.184 And in deciding that an employee who could not do her job because of carpal tunnel syndrome was not covered by ADA, the Supreme Court said that the central issue was whether the claimant was unable to perform the variety of tasks central to most people's daily lives, not whether the claim­ ant was unable to perform the tasks associated with her specific job. 185 Only permanent or long-term impairments count as disabilities. "[T]emporary, nonchronic impairments of short duration, with little or no long term or permanent im­ pact, are usually not disabilities. Such impairments may include, but are not limited to, broken limbs, sprained joints, concussions, appendicitis, and influenza. Similarly, ex­ cept in rare circumstances, obesity is not considered a disabling impairment." The plaintiff in one case was five foot six inches tall and weighed 375 pounds. Depending on the temperature, she could walk about 500 yards, and a physician estimated she suf­ fered a fifty percent disability. Nevertheless, the court found that she was not suffi­ ciently substantially impaired to be covered, but it also noted that she might qualify under another facet of the definition—being regarded as having an impairment.186 Two Supreme Court opinions address the issue of whether individuals qualify as hav­ ing disabilities under ADA if as a result of mitigating measures, such as eyeglasses or medicine, their impairments are no longer substantially limiting. The Court ruled that mitigating measures may be taken into account when determining if individuals have disabilities even when the mitigating measures control, but do not cure, an impairment. A person who can see normally with eyeglasses or whose hypertension is controlled by

DISABILITY

201

medication is not protected by ADA. The Court also ruled that an employer does not vio­ late ADA when it fails to hire an applicant who the employer mistakenly believes suffers from an impairment that would prevent the applicant from performing a specific job such as "global airline pilot." ADA would be violated if an employer mistakenly be­ lieved that an applicant had an impairment that prevented the applicant from performing a broad class of jobs (i.e., that the applicant had an impairment that substantially limited the major life activity of working187). An employer may also refuse to hire or retain an employee with a disability in a job that would exacerbate the disability, thereby posing a direct threat to the employee's health or safety.188 As noted earlier, ADA protects people who, although they currently have no impair­ ment of a major life activity, have a record of such an impairment or are regarded as hav­ ing such an impairment. But not everyone who has ever had a temporary disability or who anyone regards as having a disability is covered. In one case, a federal district court ruled that a teacher who had been hospitalized for breast cancer surgery did not have a re­ cord of impairment sufficient to establish eligibility under ADA.189 Another federal dis­ trict court ruled that the obese plaintiff was not able to prove she was regarded as having a disability because her evidence consisted only of isolated comments spread over time and one inquiry regarding her ability to walk; neither was she able to prove there was a perception that she was unable to do her job in the school library.190 In addition to prohibiting discrimination against employees who themselves have disabilities, ADA also prohibits discrimination against employees "because of the ... disability of an individual with whom the [employee] is known to have a relationship or association." This provision is violated if the employer declines to hire someone be­ cause the employer believes the applicant would miss work or leave work early to care for a family member with a disability or if the employer provides reduced health insur­ ance benefits because the employee has a dependent with a disability. However, the law does not require reasonable accommodation—for example, a change in work schedule—of an employee without a disability in order to enable the employee to care for a dependent with a disability. People currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs are not covered by Section 504 and ADA, but those participating in a drug rehabilitation program are. Alcoholics whose use of alcohol "prevents such an individual from performing the duties of the job in question or whose employment, by reason of such current alcohol abuse, would constitute a direct threat to property or the safety of others" are not covered. Nonstan­ dard sexual orientations and preferences such as bisexuality and transvestitism are specifically excluded from coverage. Regarding Section 504, the Supreme Court has said the definition of a "handicapped person" includes those with an infectious disease such as tuberculosis, and a lower court has included a teacher carrying the HIV virus but not suffering from AIDS.191 ADA regulations provide that a person who poses a "direct threat" to the health and safety of others is not covered. The term "direct threat" means a significant risk of sub­ stantial harm that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. In deciding whether a teacher with AIDS could be excluded from the classroom and reas­ signed to an administrative position, the Ninth Circuit looked at four factors: (a) the na­ ture of the risk—how the disease is transmitted, (b) how long the carrier is infectious, (c) the potential harm to third parties, and (d) the probability the disease would be

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transmitted and cause harm. After examining the scientific evidence, the court found that there was no apparent risk of HIV infection to individuals exposed only through the type of contact that occurs in the course of a teacher's job and so ordered the teacher returned to the classroom.192 Of course, the fact that a person has a disability does not mean that the person must be employed. The law only prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities who are "otherwise qualified"; that is, who despite their disability have the training, experience, abilities, and skills to perform the essential requirements of the job they seek or hold.193 When interviewing job applicants, school officials may "inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions, and/or may ask an appli­ cant to describe or to demonstrate how, with or without reasonable accommodation, the applicant will be able to perform job-related functions." Job applications may not inquire whether an applicant is an individual with a disability, the nature or severity of an applicant's disability, or ask how often the individual will require leave for treat­ ment or use leave as a result of a disability. Neither may school districts require an ap­ plicant to undergo a medical examination prior to making a job offer, but they may require a medical examination after making an offer. If an otherwise qualified job applicant or employee with a disability can perform the essential functions of a job with reasonable accommodation, a failure to provide reasonable accommodation is unlawful unless the school can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on it.194 The essential functions of a job are its fundamental duties as opposed to marginal functions, the elimination of which would not significantly alter the position as the employer has defined it. For example, being able to convey information orally is an essential function of most teaching jobs, but being able to type quickly usually is not. Undue hardship is deter­ mined by taking into account the costs and overall financial resources of the school district, the effect of the accommodation on other employees, and whether the ac­ commodation would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the education program. Reasonable accommodation may include modifying facilities, equipment, or work schedules; job restructuring; or the acquisition of special equipment. The Supreme Court has ruled, however, that when an employer has an established senior­ ity system, employees with seniority have priority over less senior employees with a disability even if the particular position could uniquely accommodate the less senior employee.195 When designing reasonable accommodations, the law requires the employer to en­ gage in an "informal interactive process" with the employee and to make a good faith effort to design accommodations that will make it possible for the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. 196 The Ninth Circuit has ruled that the required inter­ active process must involve more than a one-time offer of a single option.197 If more than one set of accommodations would permit the employee to perform the essential functions of the job, the employer retains the ultimate authority to choose the accom­ modations that are the cheapest or easiest to provide. Relying on these principles, a federal district court ruled that a custodian who had sustained an injury and conse­ quently could no longer do the heavy lifting his job required was not denied reasonable accommodation when his school district refused either to assign him to permanent light custodial duties or to give him a job as a food service manager. The court ruled

DISABILITY

203

that assignment to light duties exclusively would transform the essential functions of the job and impose a greater workload on the other custodians. Regarding the manage­ rial position, the court concluded that the plaintiff's experience as a manager years ear­ lier did not make him qualified for the position especially because he had no experience in food services.198 Schools may be accused of violating Section 504 and ADA for engaging in hidden motive disparate treatment of an employee with a disability, for adopting polices and practices with a disparate impact on such employees, for failing to make reasonable ac­ commodations for otherwise qualified employees with disabilities, or for engaging in retaliation against employees for asserting rights under the statutes or aiding in investi­ gations to enforce the statutes. Disparate treatment cases employ the McDonnell Douglas framework examined in Section 7.4. The plaintiff bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of intentional discrimination: that the plaintiff was an otherwise qualified individual with disabilities who suffered an adverse employment decision. The school may then defend itself by showing that the adverse employment decision was taken for legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons. Schools charged with adopting policies that have a disparate impact on qualified in­ dividuals with disabilities must show that the policies are job-related and consistent with business necessity and that reasonable accommodations are not possible. Pandazides v. Virginia Board of Education199 concerned a probationary teacher who was not rehired because she was unable to pass a standardized test that was a require­ ment of permanent certification in her state. The teacher argued that she was an other­ wise qualified person who was unable to pass the test because of a learning disability and that, as applied to her, the standardized test requirement was impermissible under Section 504. The Fourth Circuit ruled that in order to determine whether the teacher was "otherwise qualified" within the meaning of the statute, it was necessary to con­ sider more than just whether the teacher could satisfy the state board of education's re­ quirements for a teaching certificate (passing the test). Rather, it was necessary to consider whether the teacher could perform the essential functions of the job of school teacher and whether the test actually "measured those functions." Furthermore, even if it was determined that the teacher could not perform all the duties of the job, it would still be necessary to determine whether reasonable modifications could be made that would allow her to teach. The case was remanded to the district court to make the nec­ essary determinations. Schools charged with failing to make reasonable accommodations may defend themselves by demonstrating either that they did offer reasonable accommodations that were rejected or that any possible effective accommodations would impose undue hardship on the district. To successfully defend a suit charging retaliation, the school would have to show that the adverse employment decision was taken for legitimate reasons other than retaliation. A person with a disability victimized by intentional discrimination may sue a school for compensatory damages, but the Supreme Court has ruled that ADA and section 504 do not permit plaintiffs to sue entities that receive federal funds (such as public schools) for punitive damages.200 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may pursue an employee's ADA claim even if the employee is personally prohibited by an arbitration agreement from doing so.201

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7.7 AGE

Intentionally treating employees differently on the basis of age raises both constitu­ tional and statutory issues. The Supreme Court dealt with the constitutionality of man­ datory retirement in Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia.202 Because age classifications do not trigger strict scrutiny, the Court rejected the plaintiffs' claim that a mandatory retirement policy violated the Equal Protection Clause because the policy was rationally related to the goal of assuring a physically fit police force. Applying this approach, the Second Circuit concluded that a mandatory retirement policy was con­ stitutionally permissible in that it served, among other things, to foster employment of young people.203 However, the Seventh Circuit has held that mandatory retirement might beunconstitutional.204 The uncertainty regarding the constitutionality of mandatory retirement of teachers is a moot point in light of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978 (ADEA). This federal statute protects people above the age of forty from discrimina­ tion on the basis of age with regard to hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment.205 Thus, mandatory retirement for teachers is prohibited by law. Dispa­ rate treatment litigation brought under ADEA follows the same framework as other disparate treatment cases.206 Although ADEA recognizes that age may sometimes be a bona fide occupational qualification, it is unlikely that this narrowly defined exception would ever apply to a teaching position. Thus, a school charged with disparate treat­ ment age discrimination must defend itself by showing that the adverse employment decision was based on legitimate factors other than age.207 The federal circuit courts are split on whether the ADEA permits disparate impact suits. The Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits permit disparate impact suits, but the First, Third, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits do not.208 In disparate impact cases, where permitted, the plaintiff must first establish that the challenged practice has a disparate impact on people protected by ADEA. The school must then show that its practice is justified as a business necessity; the school then will prevail unless the plaintiff can show that an alternative practice would serve the same business purpose without the discriminatory effect. The law also permits a school to defend itself by showing that it was observing a bona fide seniority system or employment benefit plan that was not a subterfuge to evade the law.209 This framework was used by a court to decide whether a school district's senioritybased salary schedule was permissible under the ADEA. Because the salary schedule made experienced teachers more expensive, the district had adopted a hiring policy that favored hiring less experienced teachers, a policy that had a discriminatory impact on older applicants. Nevertheless, the court concluded that the pay system was a bona fide seniority-based system and had not been adopted with a discriminatory intent.210 Early retirement plans and reductions in force may raise difficult issues under the ADEA. Truly voluntary early retirement plans are permitted;211 however, when incen­ tives are offered for early retirement, the employer must demonstrate legitimate, non­ discriminatory reasons for the plan.212 Retirement benefits may also be keyed to the age of retirement as long as the differences in benefits are based on nonage-related rea­ sons like cost.213 Lay-offs in accordance with a legitimate seniority system are permit­ ted, but laying off older workers first in order to save money is not.214

SUMMARY

7.8

205

SUMMARY

A school has both a right and an obligation to ensure that all of its employees perform the legitimate duties of their jobs. However, the school's power over its teachers and other employees is limited because they retain the same constitutional rights as any cit­ izen. Many cases require balancing an employee's constitutional rights against a school's need to promote its goals. Freedom of speech protects a teacher's right to advocate any political belief, either by symbolic or actual speech or through membership in a political party or organiza­ tion. When acting as private citizens, teachers may speak freely on any matter of public concern including education issues, if their speech is not excessively disruptive to their school's educational mission, but the airing of private gripes (e.g., about supervi­ sors) may be prohibited even if not disruptive. Even on matters of public concern, speech that materially and substantially disrupts the school may be barred. Within the classroom, freedom of speech affords only limited protection to teach­ ers. K-12 teachers, unlike university professors, have little academic freedom; they may be required to adhere closely to the curriculum and instructional methods chosen by the school. The right of privacy affords school employees some protection in matters of life­ style and morality. Although some issues such as the right to use contraception or to become pregnant are well settled, others are not. Some courts have permitted firing for adultery or homosexuality and others require a proven connection between the behav­ ior and the ability to do the job. Teachers enjoy Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Mandatory drug testing may be permissible for bus drivers and other employees whose impairment would pose a direct and significant threat to the safety of students; however, random drug testing of all teachers is ques­ tionable. Although schools must make reasonable accommodations to a teacher's religious beliefs, freedom of religion does not provide an exemption from the essential duties of the job. In particular, a teacher may not claim a religion-based right to modify the curriculum, a practice that would violate the Establishment Clause. In accommodat­ ing employees' religious beliefs, schools must avoid appearing to endorse them. Thus, the Free Exercise Clause does not give teachers the right to recite prayers openly within the classroom or, at least according to some courts, to dress in religious garb. Free exercise does protect a teacher's right to take a reasonable number of days off for religious observance, not necessarily with pay, or to wear unobtrusive sym­ bols of faith. Discrimination is a very active and complex area of employment law. The Equal Protection Clause and a number of federal statutes including the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991 protect both employees and prospective employees of schools from dis­ crimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, or age. Although summarizing the thrust of these laws is difficult, employment decisions must not be based on any of these characteristics unless there is an extremely compelling rationale. Race must never influence employment decisions, except possibly in certain carefully crafted af­ firmative action programs designed to remedy past discrimination by a particular em­ ployer. Gender may perhaps be a bona fide occupational qualification for a few

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education jobs, but the justification must be strong. Schools must make reasonable ac­ commodations for employees with disabilities but are not obliged to employ people who are unable to perform the essential functions of the job. Mandatory retirement or gearing salary or benefits directly to age is illegal. Schools must not permit employees to be subjected to racial or sexual harassment. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

342 U.S. 485(1952). 364 U.S. 479(1960). 377 U.S. 360(1964). 385 U.S. 589(1967). Cole v. Richardson, 405 U.S. 676 (1972); Connell v. Higgenbotham, 403 U.S. 207 (1971). Ambach v. Norwick, 441 U.S. 68 (1979). Rutan v. Republican Party of 111., 497 U.S. 62 (1990); Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980); Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347(1976). 8. Childersv. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 676 F.2d 1338 (10th Cir. 1982); Guerrav. Roma Indep. Sch. Dist., 444 F. Supp. 812 (S.D. Tex. 1977). 9. Solis v. Rio Grande City Indep. Sch., 734 F.2d 243 (5th Cir. 1984). 10. 933 F. Supp. 458 (E.D. Pa. 1996). 11. Haskinsv. State ex rel. Harrington, 516 P.2d 1171 (Wyo. 1973; see also Rutan v. Republican Party of 111.,497U.S. 62 (1990); Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980); Elrod v. Burns, 427U.S. 347(1976). 12. Minielly v. State, 411 P.2d 69 (Or. 1966). 13. Allen v. Bd. of Educ., 584 S.W.2d408 (Ky. Ct. App. 1979). 14. 391 U.S. 563(1968). 15. 439 U.S. 410(1979). 16. 461 U.S. 138(1983). 17. 483 U.S. 378(1987). 18. 511 U.S. 661 (1994). 19. See, e.g., Morfm v. Albuquerque Pub. Sch., 906 F.2d 1434 (10th Cir. 1990); Jeffries v. Harleston, 52 F.3d 9 (2d Cir. 1995); Levin v. Harleston, 770 F. Supp. 895 (S.D.N.Y. 1991). 20. Piver v. Fender County Bd. of Educ., 835 F.2d 1076 (4th Cir. 1987). 21. Cliff v. Bd. of Sch. Comm'rs of Indianapolis, 42 F.3 d403 (7th Cir. 1994). 22. Rowland v. Mad River Local Sch. Dist., 730 F.2d 444 (6th Cir. 1984). 23. Anderson v. Evans, 660 F.2d 153 (6th Cir. 1981). 24. Vargas-Harrison v. Racine Unified Sch. Dist., 272 F.3d 964 (7th Cir. 2001). 25. Brocknell v. Norton, 732 F.2d 664 (8th Cir. 1984). 26. Westbrook v. Teton County Sch. Dist. No. 1, 918 F. Supp. 1475 (D. Wyo. 1996). 27. Tim Barnett, Overview of State Whistleblower Protection Statutes, 43 LAB. L.J. 440 (1992). 28. Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977). 29. 598 F.2d 535 (10th Cir. 1979). 30. 611 P.2d 414 (Wash. 1980) (en bane). 31. Russo v. Cent. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 469 F.2d 623 (2d Cir. 1972). 32. Palmer v. Bd. of Educ. of Chicago, 603 F.2d 1271 (7th Cir. 1979). 33. Boring v. Buncombe County Bd. of Educ., 136 F.3d 364 (4th Cir. 1998). 34. Kirkland v. Northside Indep. Sch. Dist., 890 F.2d 794 (5th Cir. 1989). 35. Lacks v. Ferguson Reorganized Sch. Dist. R-2, 147 F.3d 718 (8th Cir. 1998), reh'gandreh 'gen bane denied, 154 F.3d 904 (8th Cir. 1998); see also Erskine v. Bd. of Educ., 207 F. Supp. 2d 407 (D. Md. 2002). 36. LeVake v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 656, 625 N.W.2d 502 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001). 37. 611F.2dll09(5thCir. 1980). 38. Cockrel v. Shelby County Sch. Dist., 270 F.3d 1036 (6th Cir. 2001).

39. 323 F. Supp. 1387 (D. Mass.), aff'd, 448 F.2d 1242 (1st Cir. 1971).

40. 713 F. Supp. 1131 (N.D. 111. 1989).

41. Fisher v. Fairbanks N. Star Borough Sch. Dist., 704 P.2d 213 (Alaska 1985).

NOTES

207

42. Breen v. Runkel, 614 F. Supp. 355 (W.D. Mich. 1985); Marchi v. Bd. of Coop. Educ. Servs. of Albany, 173 F.3d 469 (2d Cir. 1999). 43. LaRocca v. Bd. of Educ. of Rye City Sch. Dist., 406 N.Y.S.2d 348 (N.Y. App. Div.), appeal dismissed, 386 N.E.2d 266 (N.Y. 1978); Birdwell v. Hazelwood Sch. Dist., 491 F.2d 490 (8th Cir. 1974). 44. Miles v. Denver Pub. Sch., 944 F.2d 773 (10th Cir. 1991). 45. 500 U.S. 173(1991). 46. 777 F.2d 1046 (5th Cir. 1985), aff'd, 479 U.S. 801 (1986).

47. 461 F.2d 566 (2d Cir. 1972).

48. Downs v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., 228 F.3d 1003 (9th Cir. 2000). 49. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965). 50. E. Hartford Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of E. Hartford, 562 F.2d 856 (2d Cir. 1977). 51. Tardif v. Quinn, 545 F.2d 761 (1st Cir. 1976). 52. Finot v. Pasadena City Bd. of Educ., 58 Cal. Rptr. 520 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967). 53. Conard v. Goolsby, 350 F. Supp. 713 (N.D. Miss. 1972). 54. Domico v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 675 F.2d 100 (5th Cir. 1982). 55. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965); Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973); Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374 (1978). 56. Littlejohn v. Rose, 768 F.2d 765 (6th Cir. 1985). 57. Mescia v. Berry, 406 F. Supp. 1181 (D.S.C. 1974), aff'd, 530 F.2d 969 (4th Cir. 1975). 58. Solomon v. Quinones, 531 N.Y.S.2d 349 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988). 59. Keckeisen v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 612, 509 F.2d 1062 (8th Cir. 1975). 60. Erb v. Iowa State Bd. of Pub. Instruction, 216 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1974). 61. 439 U.S. 1052 (1978). 62. See also Johnson v. San Jacinto Junior College, 498 F. Supp. 555 (S.D. Tex. 1980). 63. Avery v. Homewood City Bd. of Educ., 674 F.2d 337 (Former 5th Cir. 1982); Andrews v. Drew Mun. Separate Sch. Dist., 507 F.2d 611 (5th Cir.), cert, granted, 423 U.S. 820 (1975), cert, dismissed, 425 U.S. 559(1976). 64. Rowland v. Mad River Local Sch. Dist., 730 F.2d 444 (6th Cir. 1984). 65. National Gay Task Force v. Bd. of Educ. of Okla. City, 729 F.2d,1270 (10th Cir. 1984), aff'd by an equally divided Court, 470 U.S. 903 (1985). 66. Sarac v. State Bd. of Educ., 57 Cal. Rptr. 69 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967); Stephens v. Bd. of Educ., Sch. Dist. No. 5, 429 N.W.2d 722 (Neb. 1988). 67. Glover v. Williamsburg Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 20 F. Supp. 2d 1160 (S.D. Ohio 1998). 68. Lawrence v. Texas, 123 S. Ct. 2472 (2003). 69. Goseny v. Sonora Indep. Sch. Dist., 603 F.2d 522 (5th Cir. 1979). 70. McCarthy v. Philadelphia Civil Serv. Comm'n, 424 U.S. 645 (1976). 71. Fyfe v. Curlee, 902 F.2d401 (5th Cir. 1990); Brantely v. Surles, 718 F.2d 1354 (5th Cir. 1983). 72. Cook v. Hudson, 511 F.2d 744 (5th Cir. 1975). 73. 29 U.S.C. §2601. 74. 232 F. Supp. 2d 730 (E.D. Mich. 2002); see also Hughes v. N. Olmsted, 93 F.3d 238 (6th Cir. 1996). 75. Sterling v. Minersville, 232 F.3d 190 (3d Cir. 2000); Kallstrom v. Columbus, 136 F.3d 1055 (6th Cir. 1998). 76. 842 F.2d 9 (1st Cir. 1988); see also Lyons v. Sullivan, 602 F.2d 7 (1st Cir. 1979). 77. Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Teachers' Retirement Fund Ass'n, 95 P.2d 720 (Or. 1939); Cude v. State, 377 S.W.2d 816 (Ark. 1964). 78. Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960). 79. Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967); Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Bd., 382 U.S. 70 (1965). 80. Beilan v. Bd. of Educ., 357 U.S. 399 (1958). 81. Gardner v. Broderick, 392 U.S. 273 (1968); Lefkowitz v. Cunningham, 431 U.S. 801 (1977). 82. 480 U.S. 709(1987). 83. Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (E.D. Pa. 1996). 84. United States v. Charbonneau, 979 F. Supp. 1177 (S.D. Ohio 1997); United States v. Maxwell, 45 M. J. 406(C.A.A.F. 1996). 85. Compare, Wyman v. James, 400 U.S. 309 (1971). 86. 18U.S.C.§ 2510-2522, amended by the Electronics Communication Privacy Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-508, l00Stat. 1848.

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87. Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Serv., 36 F.3d 457 (5th Cir. 1994); United States v. Reyes, 922 F. Supp. 818 (S.D.N.Y. 1996). 88. Brannen v. Kings Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 761 N.E.2d 84 (Ohio Ct. App. 2001). 89. People v. Triggs, 506 P.2d 232 (Cal. 1973). 90. Hearn v. Bd. of Pub. Educ., 191 F.3d 1329, reh 'g denied, 204 F.3d 1124 (11th Cir. 1999). 91. 789 P.2d 636 (Okla. Ct. App. 1989). 92. See also Skinner v. Ry. Labor Executives' Ass'n, 489 U.S. 602 (1989). 93. Patchogue-Medford Congress of Teachers v. Bd. of Educ. of Patchogue-Medford, 510 N.E.2d 325 (N.Y. 1987). 94. Knox County Educ. Ass'n v. Knox County Bd. of Educ., 158 F.3d 361 (6th Cir. 1998). 95. Aubrey v. Sch. Bd. of Lafayette Parish, 148 F.3d 559 (5th Cir. 1998). 96. 20U.S.C. § 1145g. 97. 42U.S.C. §2000(e). 98. 42U.S.C. § 1981. 99. N. Haven Bd. of Educ. v. Bell, 456 U.S. 512 (1982). 100. 42U.S.C. §2000(e). 101. See Mitchell v. Bd. of Trustees of Pickens County, 599 F.2d 582 (4th Cir. 1979). 102. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l). 103. Simonton v. Runyon, 232 F.3d 33 (2d Cir. 2000) (holding sexual orientation is not covered under Title VII); Bibby v. Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 260 F.3d 257 (3d Cir. 2001) (same); Spearman v. Ford Motor Co., 231 F.3d 1080 (7th Cir. 2000) (same); Williamson v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, 876 F.2d 69 (8th Cir. 1989) (same); Desantis v. Pac. Tel. & Tel. Co., 608 F.2d 327 (9th Cir. 1979) (same); United States Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev. v. Federal Labor Relations Auth., 964 F.2d 1 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (same); but see Rene v. MGM Grand Hotel, Inc., 305 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc) (plurality opinion) (holding sexual orientation is covered under Title VII); Nichols v. Azteca Rest. En­ terprises, Inc., 256 F.3d 864 (9th Cir. 2001) (same). 104. Tex. Dep't of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248 (1981). 105. 42 U.S.C. §10201. 106. Dothard v.Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321 (1977); UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 499 U.S. 187(1991). 107. Weeks v. Southern Bell & Tel. Co., 408 F.2d 228 (5th Cir. 1969); see also Hayes v. Shelby Mem'l Hosp., 726 F.2d 1543 (llth Cir. 1984). 108. Moteles v. Univ. of Pa., 730 F.2d 913 (3d Cir. 1984). 109. 411 U.S. 792(1973). 110. 480 U.S. 616(1987). 111. 476 U.S. 267(1986). 112. 488 U.S. 469(1989). 113. Taxman v. Bd. of Educ. of Piscataway, 91 F.3d 1547 (3d Cir. 1996). 114. Kromnick v. Sch. Dist. of Philadelphia, 555 F. Supp. 249 (E.D. Pa. 1983). 115. Mitchell v. Baldrige, 759 F.2d 80 (D.C. Cir. 1985); Abrams v. Johnson, 534 F.2d 1226 (6th Cir. 1976). 116. Tex. Dep't of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248 (1981). 117. St. Mary's Honor Cent. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502 (1993); see also Fisher v. Vassar Coll., 114 F.3d 1332 (2d Cir. 1997). 118. See, e.g., Abasiekong v. City of Shelby, 744 F.2d 1055 (4th Cir. 1984). 119. See, e.g.,Hallquist v. Local 276, Plumbers, 843 F.2d 18 (1st Cir. 1988), aff'g Hallquistv. Max Fish Plumbing & Heating Co., 46 Fair Empl. Prac. Cases (BNA) 1855 (D. Mass. 1987). 120. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000). 121. 432 N.W.2d 777 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988). 122. McCarthney v. Griffm-Spaulding County Bd. of Educ., 791 F.2d 1549 (11th Cir. 1986). 123. Ruggles v. Cal. Polytechnic State Univ., 797 F.2d 782 (9th Cir. 1986); Murray v. Sapula, 45 F.3d 1417 (10th Cir. 1995). 124. Desert Palace, Inc. dba Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino v. Costa, 123 S. Ct. 2148 (2003). 125. Rayl v. Fort Wayne Cmty. Schs., 87 F. Supp. 2d 870 (N.D. Ind. 2000), citing Emmel v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Chicago, 95 F.3d 627 (7th Cir. 1996). 126. Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. United States, 433 U.S. 299 (1977). 127. Craik v. Minn. State Univ. Bd., 731 F.2d 465 (8th Cir. 1984). 128. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324 (1977).

NOTES

209

129. Sine v. Trustees of Cal. State Univ., 11 Fair Empl. Prac. Cases (BNA) 334 (E.D. Cal. 1974), aff'd, 526 F.2dlll2(9thCir. 1975). 130. See, e.g., Rowe v. Cleveland Pneumatic Co., 690 F.2d 88 (6th Cir. 1982). 131. Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229 (1976); Personnel Adm'r of Mass. v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256 (1979). 132. Albermarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405 (1975). 133. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)(l)(B)(ii). 134. Albermarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405 (1975). 135. Richardson v. Lamar County Bd. of Educ., 729 F. Supp. 806 (M.D. Ala. 1989), aff'd, 935 F.2d 1240 (11th Cir. 1991); United States v. Texas, 628 F. Supp. 304 (E.D. Tex. 1985), rev 'don other grounds, 793 F.2d 636 (5th Cir. 1986); York v. Ala. State Bd. of Educ., 581 F. Supp. 779 (M.D. Ala. 1983); United States v. North Carolina, 400 F. Supp. 343 (1975), vacated, 425 F. Supp. 789 (E.D.N.C. 1977). 136. 445 F. Supp. 1094 (D.S.C. 1977), aff'd mem., 434 U.S. 1026 (1978). 137. 20 U.S.C. §206(d). 138. Brock v. Ga. Southwestern Coll., 765 F.2d 1026 (11 th Cir. 1985); EEOC v. Madison Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist, 818 F.2d 577 (7th Cir. 1987); Perdue v. City Univ. of N.Y., 13 F. Supp. 2d 326 (E.D.N.Y. 1998). 139. Ariz. Governing Comm. for Tax Deferred Annuity & Deferred Compensation Plans v. Norris, 463 U.S. 1073 (1983); Los Angeles v. Manhart, 435 U.S. 702 (1978). 140. 29C.F.R. § 1604.ll(a). 141. See, e.g., Vermett v. Hough, 627 F. Supp. 587 (W.D. Mich. 1986). 142. Lipsett v. Univ. of P.R., 864 F.2d 881 (1st Cir. 1988). 143. Keppler v. Hinsdale Township Sch. Dist. 86, 715 F. Supp. 862 (N.D. I11. 1989); Succar v. Dade County Sch. Bd., 229 F.3d 1343 (11th Cir. 2000). 144. Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs. Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998). 145. Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989). 146. See Dandan v. Radisson Hotel Lisle, No. 97-C-8342 2000 WL 336528 (N.D. I11. March 28, 2000); Spearman v. Ford Motor Co., 231 F.3d 1080 (7th Cir. 2000); Carrasco v. Lenox Hill Hosp., No. 99-C-927 2000 WL 520640 (S.D.N.Y. April 28, 2000). 147. Trautvetter v. Quick, 916 F.2d 1140 (7th Cir. 1990). 148. Karibian v. Columbia Univ., 14 F.3d 773 (2d Cir. 1994). 149. Anderson v. Univ. Health Ctr., 623 F. Supp. 795 (W.D. Pa. 1985). 150. Priest v. Rotary, 634 F. Supp. 571 (N.D. Cal. 1986). 151. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). 152. Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17 (1993). 153. Redman v. Lima City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 889 F. Supp. 288 (N.D. Ohio 1995). 154. Ross v. Double Diamond, Inc., 672 F. Supp. 261 (N.D. Tex. 1987). 155. Cohen v. Litt, 906 F. Supp. 957 (S.D.N.Y. 1995); see also Clark County Sch. Dist. v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268(2001). 156. Smith v. St. Louis Univ., 109F.3d 1261 (8th Cir. 1997); King v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Wis. Sys., 898 F.2d 533 (7th Cir. 1990); but see Becker v. Churchville-Chili Cent. Sch., 602 N.Y.S.2d 497 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1993). 157. Campbell v. Kan. State Univ., 780 F. Supp. 755 (D. Kan. 1991); but see Collins v. Baptist Mem. Geri­ atric Ctr., 937 F.2d 190 (5th Cir. 1991). 158. Vance v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 863 F.2d 1503 (llth Cir. 1989). 159. Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 118 S. Ct. 2257 (1998); see also Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 118S. Ct. 2275(1998). 160. Molnar v. Booth, 229 F.3d 593 (7th Cir. 2000). 161. Carr v. Allison Gas Turbine Div., 32 F.3d 1007 (7th Cir. 1994). 162. Hathaway v. Runyon, 132 F.3d 1214 (8th Cir. 1997). 163. Mattern v. Eastman Kodak Co., 104 F.3d 702 (5th Cir. 1997). 164. Knox v. Indiana, 93 F.3d 1327 (7th Cir. 1996); Gunnell v. Utah Valley State Coll., 152 F.3d 1253 (10th Cir. 1998). 165. See, e.g., Lyons v. Barrett, 851 F.2d 406 (D.C. Cir. 1988). 166. 723 P.2d 298 (Ore. 1986), appeal dismissed, 480 U.S. 942 (1987); see also United States v. Bd. of Educ. for Sch. Dist. of Philadelphia, 911 F.2d 882 (3d Cir. 1990). 167. May v. Evansville-Vanderburgh Sch. Corp., 787 F.2d 1105 (7th Cir. 1986). 168. 406 U.S. 205(1972).

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169. Palmer v. Bd. of Educ. of Chicago, 603 F.2d 1271 (7th Cir. 1979). 170. Employment Div., Dep't of Human Resources v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). 171. Pinsker v. Joint Dist. No. 28J of Adams & Arapahoe Counties, 735 F.2d 388 (10th Cir. 1984). 172. Rankins v. Comm'n on Prof'l Competence, 593 P.2d 852 (Cal), appeal dismissed, 444 U.S. 986 (1979). 173. 29C.F.R. § 1605.1. 174. Young v. Southwestern Savings & Loan Ass'n, 509 F.2d 140 (5th Cir. 1975). 175. Brown v. Pena, 441 F. Supp. 1382 (S.D. Fla. 1977), aff'd, 589 F.2d 1113 (5th Cir. 1979). 176. Hansard v. Johns-Manville Prod. Corp., 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cases (BNA) 707 (E.D. Tex. 1973). 177. See, e.g., Cooper v. Oak Rubber Co., 15 F.3d 1375 (6th Cir. 1994). 178. Corp. of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos, 483 U.S. 327 (1987); Little v. Wuerl, 929 F.2d 944 (3d Cir. 1991). 179. TWA v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63 (1977). 180. 479 U.S. 60(1986). 181. 29 U.S.C. §701-796. 182. 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213. 183. Kelley v. Drexel Univ., 94 F.3d 102 (3d Cir. 1996). 184. Swain v. Hillsborough County Sch. Bd., 146 F.3d 855 (llth Cir. 1998). 185. Toyota Motor Mfr., Ky., Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002). 186. Nedderv. Rivier Coll., 944 F. Supp. Ill (D.N.H. 1996). 187. Suttonv. United Airlines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999); Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 527 U.S. 516 (1999). 188. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Echazabal, 536 U.S. 73 (2002). 189. Treiber v. Lindbergh Sch. Dist., 199 F. Supp. 2d 949 (E.D. Mo. 2002). 190. Ridge v. Cape Elizabeth Sch. Dep't, 77 F. Supp. 2d 149 (D. Me. 1999). 191. Sch. Bd. of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987); Chalk v. United States Dist. Court & Or­ ange County Superintendent of Schs., 840 F.2d 701 (9th Cir. 1988). 192. Chalk v. United States Dist. Court & Orange County Superintendent of Schs., 840F.2d701 (9thCir. 1988). 193. See Strathie v. Dep't of Transp., 716 F.2d 227 (3d Cir. 1983). 194. Southeastern Cmty. Coll. v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397 (1979). 195. US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, 535 U.S. 391 (2002). 196. Taylor v. Phoenixville Sch. Dist., 9 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 311 (3d Cir. 1999). 197. Humphrey v. Mem'l Hosp. Ass'n, 239 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2001). 198. Hinson v. U.S.D. No. 500, 187 F. Supp. 2d 1297 (D. Kan. 2002). 199. 946 F.2d 345 (4th Cir. 1991). 200. Barnes v. Gorman, 536 U.S. 181 (2002). 201. EEOC v. Waffle House, 534 U.S. 279 (2002). 202. 427 U.S. 307(1976). 203. Palmer v. Ticcione, 576 F.2d 459 (2d Cir. 1978). 204. Gault v. Garrison, 569 F.2d 993 (7th Cir. 1977). 205. 29 U.S.C.A. §§623,631. 206. Western Air Lines v. Criswell, 472 U.S. 400 (1985). 207. Kaufman v. Kent State Univ., 815 F. Supp. 1077 (N.D. Ohio 1993); Wooden v. Bd. of Educ. of Jeffer­ son County, 931 F.2d 376 (6th Cir. 1991); Shook v. St. Bede Sch., 74 F. Supp. 2d 1172 (M.D. Ala. 1999). 208. Adams v. Fla. Power Corp., 255 F.3d 1322 (11th Cir.), cert, granted, 534U.S. 1054 (2001), cert, dis­ missed as improvidently granted, 535 U.S. 228 (2002). 209. C.F.R. § 1625.8. 210. United States EEOC v. Newport Mesa Unified Sch. Dist., 893 F. Supp. 927 (C.D. Cal. 1995). 211. Hennv. Nat'l Geographic Soc'y, 819 F.2d 824 (7th Cir. 1987). 212. Cipriano v. Bd. of Educ. of North Tonawanda, 785 F.2d 51 (2d Cir. 1986). 213. Karlen v. City Colls, of Chicago, 837 F.2d 314 (7th Cir. 1988). 214. 29 C.F.R. § 1625.7(f).

CHAPTER

8

TEACHER EMPLOYMENT

Chapter 7 examined the federal constitutional and statutory law that forms the founda­ tion of a school's relationship to its teachers and other employees. This chapter focuses directly on teacher personnel issues: certification, hiring, job assignment, transfer, evaluation, nonrenewal, and dismissal. The primary source of law for the topics exam­ ined in this chapter is the statutes of the fifty states, although the Constitution is also relevant, particularly the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the principles and cases presented are consistent with the law of most states, it must be remembered that personnel statutes and interpretations do vary across states, some­ times considerably. Therefore, practitioners should supplement the materials in this chapter with the relevant statutes of their state.

8.1

ELIGIBILITY FOR EMPLOYMENT

Eligibility for a particular teaching position in a public school requires a state-issued certificate. State certification requirements may include a requirement of good moral character, a college degree, specified courses, practice teaching, and, in more than half of the states, passing one or more examinations. InAmbach v. Norwick, the Supreme Court upheld a New York state regulation denying certification to non-U.S. citizens who had not shown an intention to apply for citizenship.1 Obtaining a certificate grants only eligibility for, not entitlement to, employment and it does not automatically signify competence. In the absence of a state-authorized waiver, schools may not hire a candidate without the proper certificate. Thus, a West Virginia court held that a school district abused its discretion when it hired a person

211

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certified in general education and mathematics as a teacher of the gifted instead of someone certified in gifted education.2 Because teaching certificates have value, the law protects people against wrongful denial or revocation. The Due Process Clause prohibits arbitrary and capricious denial of a certificate to a candidate meeting all specified requirements.3 However, obtaining a certificate does not guarantee the right to retain it. Because certificates are not contracts (see sec. 9.6), states may change retention requirements without violating constitutional prohibitions against the impairment of contracts.4 In addition, certificates can be revoked for good cause after following the procedures spelled out in state law. For example, Florida unconditionally revoked the certificate of two teachers found in possession of marijuana plants.5 Nevertheless, a number of states require that the grounds for revocation be con­ nected to teaching effectiveness; in Erb v. Iowa State Board of Public Instruction,6 the Supreme Court of Iowa prohibited the state board from revoking a high school teacher's certificate on the grounds of adultery. The court wrote: We emphasize the board's power to revoke teaching certificates is neither punitive nor in­ tended to permit exercise of personal moral judgment by members of the board. Punish­ ment is left to the criminal law, and the personal moral views of board members cannot be relevant.... The sole purpose of the board's power ... is to provide a means of protecting the school community from harm.... (A) certificate can be revoked only upon a showing before the board of a reasonable likelihood that the teacher's retention in the profession will adversely affect the school community.

A person eligible for a teaching job by virtue of the requisite state certificate may still face additional requirements such as residency in the district or passing a physical examination. Courts have upheld these requirements against constitutional challenges.7 Continuing education requirements may also be imposed on teachers as a con­ dition of retaining their jobs.8 The highest court of New York, however, struck down a school district requirement that probationary teachers pass a urine drug test to be eligi­ ble for tenure.9 The No Child Left Behind Act requires that schools receiving financial assis­ tance under the Act ensure that all teachers supported by these funds are "highly qualified" as defined by the state.10 The law further mandates that steps be taken to ensure "that poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers." States are re­ quired to report "the percentage of... teachers teaching with emergency or provi­ sional credentials, and the percentage of classes in the State not taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregated by high-poverty compared to low-poverty schools which, for the purpose of this clause, means schools in the top quartile of poverty and the bottom quartile of poverty in the State." Districts must inform parents that they may request certain information about their children's teachers including "timely notice that the parent's child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who is not highly qualified." 11 The law also requires that paraprofessionals working in pro­ grams supported by NCLB funds meet certain requirements including two years of study at an institution of higher education. 12

ASSIGNMENT, TRANSFER, AND DEMOTION

8.2

213

ASSIGNMENT, TRANSFER, AND DEMOTION

Once teachers have been hired, the board enjoys considerable discretion in assigning them to specific schools, classes, and extra duties. Like all personnel actions, however, assignments may not be discriminatory, violate state seniority or other statutory re­ quirements, be done in retaliation for the legitimate exercise of a constitutional right, violate the terms of the teaching certificate, or violate either the teacher's contract or the collective bargaining contract.13 Refusal to accept an assignment within the teacher's certification area is grounds for dismissal.14 Similarly, refusal to accept lawful extra-duty assignments reasonably related to their job exposes teachers to dismissal for insubordination.15 In judging the reasonableness of an extra-duty assignment, the courts consider such factors as the de­ gree to which the assignment relates to the educational function of the school, the num­ ber of hours of the assignment, the relation of the assignment to the teacher's expertise, and the degree of impartiality in the assignment of extra duties.16 Extra duties may, however, be so removed from the basic responsibilities of a teacher that they cannot be required except by a supplemental contract that provides extra pay. Teachers who refuse to take on these extra-pay duties are not subject to dismissal.17 However, teachers who perform extra duties do not obtain an entitlement to these jobs, so districts are free to remove teachers from, for example, coaching positions.18 Schools also enjoy broad discretion to transfer teachers. Unless a teacher can estab­ lish that the transfer was unlawful, not exercised in good faith for the best interests of the district, or an abuse of discretion, the refusal to accept the assignment is insubordi­ nation. 19 Transferring a teacher outside the area of the teacher's tenure may be prohib­ ited unless the teacher consents. However, tenure does not give a teacher a vested right in a particular class or school. Depending on state law, a transfer may constitute a demotion if it involves loss of pay, rank, reputation, or prestige. Demotions are permissible when, like dismissals, they are done for reasons specified in state law such as insubordination or budget cutbacks (see sec. 8.4 and 8.6). A demotion may entail the loss of a constitutionally protected interest and hence trigger constitutional due process protections (see sec. 8.5). State law may also specify a hearing or other procedures that must be followed when demoting a teacher.20 Demotions must also conform to the requirements of the collective-bargaining contract. 8.3

PROBATIONARY TEACHERS: EVALUATION, RENEWAL, AND TENURE

States are not constitutionally required to create a system of probation and tenure for teachers, but most have chosen to do so. In most states, a teacher with less than three years of continuous service in the same school district is a probationary teacher. Upon receiving a fourth consecutive annual contract, a teacher achieves nonprobationary or "permanent" status, which some states call "tenure." States may modify or eliminate their tenure system21 but must honor the terms of previous tenure commitments.22 In states that have a tenure system, local school boards may not refuse to grant tenure because they oppose the system itself or require their employees to waive their right to earn tenure.23 Some states place requirements on the evaluation of teachers, such as specifying the number of times that a teacher's class must be observed, and others permit school boards

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to design their own procedures. Evaluation requirements for probationary teachers are often more extensive than for tenured teachers. Some states require each school district to design a teacher evaluation plan within the boundaries set by state law and to submit the plan to the state board of education. Many school districts' collective bargaining agreements also regulate the evaluation of teachers, both probationary and tenured. School boards annually face the question of whether to renew the contract of proba­ tionary teachers and, ultimately, whether to grant tenure. Until fairly recently, these de­ cisions were not subject to many procedural requirements. All states' statutes drew a sharp distinction between the procedures required for a nonrenewal decision and a deci­ sion to dismiss for cause. This distinction still exists in many states. In those states, school boards may decide not to rehire a probationary teacher for any constitutionally permissible reason. Statutes generally require only that the teacher be notified by a spec­ ified date of the decision not to renew. No hearing or other due process is required by ei­ ther state statute or the Constitution (see sec. 8.5). State courts are split on the question whether a probationary teacher automatically achieves tenure if the school board fails to notify the teacher by the specified date.24 However, today, almost half the states require that any teacher, tenured or not, whose contract is not to be renewed be given a statement of reasons as well as other significant procedural protections.25 Failure to follow these procedures could result in the teacher automatically obtaining tenure by default.26 An Ohio statute illustrates the procedural rights probationary teachers now enjoy in many states. In the year prior to nonrenewal, a probationary teacher must be evaluated twice. Each evaluation must be based on two thirty-minute observations and specific criteria regarding expected job performance in the teacher's field. A required written report on the evaluation must contain recommendations for improvement regarding any deficiencies noted. The board must notify the teacher by April 30 of its intention not to renew. The teacher may demand a hearing. If the hearing affirms the decision not to renew, the decision may be appealed to a court, but the court's review is limited to determining whether the board complied with the statutory procedures. The court may not review the grounds for nonrenewal.27 Thus, even in states where nonrenewal of probationary teachers requires due pro­ cess, boards still retain considerable discretion. The Rhode Island Supreme Court up­ held a rule that said that probationary teachers who missed twenty-seven days or more during any one of their three probationary years would not be renewed or granted tenure.28 The law even permits a school board not to renew a teacher's contract simply on the grounds that it believes a better teacher could be found. The teacher' s only recourse is to prove that the decision not to renew violated a constitutional or statutory right (e.g., that the nonrenewal occurred because of race, religion, age, or other discrimina­ tory reasons). Probationary teachers dismissed during a contract year as opposed to nonrenewal at the end of a contract year receive the same due process protection as ten­ ured teachers (see sec. 8.6). 8.4

DISMISSAL FOR CAUSE

The contract of a post-probationary or tenured teacher must be renewed from year to year unless the teacher is dismissed for cause. State statutes protect tenured teachers by limiting the permissible grounds for dismissal. Tenured teachers may not be dismissed

DISMISSAL FOR CAUSE

215

for engaging in constitutionally or statutorily protected behavior or because the school board believes that a better teacher could be found or even if a better teacher is found. When dismissing a tenured teacher, the school board bears the burden of showing by substantial evidence that it has statutory grounds for dismissal. In some states, the grounds for dismissal may be subject to a time limitation; for example, in New York, dismissal may not be for an act that occurred more than three years prior unless the act was the commission of a crime.29 Many states also require that teachers be given the op­ portunity to remediate their deficiencies prior to dismissal. Dismissal is allowed only if remediation fails or if there is a finding of irremediability.30 Failures in maintaining classroom discipline or performance of instructional duties are typically viewed as re­ medial, but serious misconduct that may do permanent harm, such as having sex with students, is not.31 Although the wording varies from state to state, statutory grounds for dismissal can be grouped into five general categories. Each category has been given a descriptive label, which may differ from the terms actually used in state statutes. None of these grounds is precisely defined in statute or case law, and each has been the issue in a sig­ nificant amount of litigation. Incompetence: grounds relating to expertise as a teacher. Some instances of incom­ petence may be referred to as "unprofessional conduct" or "inefficiency" in the stat­ utes of some states. Factors such as a lack of knowledge of the subject matter; inability or failure to impart the designated curriculum; failure to work effectively with col­ leagues, supervisors, and parents; and failure to maintain adequate discipline or to su­ pervise students have been recognized as indicative of incompetence. One court upheld the dismissal of a teacher whose students were disruptive, daydreamed, and left class without permission.32 Another case permitted dismissal of a teacher whose class­ room was filthy and who failed to plan lessons or keep order.33 The Connecticut Su­ preme Court allowed the dismissal of a teacher who was competent in one of the two subject areas that she taught but incompetent in the other.34 Sometimes, the issue arises whether a teacher can be found incompetent for one in­ stance of what the school board considers to be a serious instructional mistake. For ex­ ample, a South Dakota case challenged the dismissal of a teacher for frankly answering a student's question about homosexuality. In disallowing the dismissal, the Supreme Court of South Dakota emphasized that incompetence usually must involve a pattern or course of conduct displaying a habitual failure to perform work with the degree of skill or accuracy displayed by other persons.... Nevertheless, there are times when only one incident may be of such magnitude or of such far reaching consequences that a teacher's ability to perform his or her duties will be permanently impaired and a finding of "incompetence" would be proper.

In this case, however, there was no showing that the teacher's ability to teach had been impaired or that students were detrimentally affected. The court also concluded that it was unlikely the teacher would repeat the prohibited behavior.35 Under certain circumstances, poor performance by a teacher's students may support a finding of incompetence. One court allowed the firing of a teacher for "inefficiency of teaching" because of a long history of failure and poor performance by students in

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his class. The court responded to the teacher's contention that the students' poor per­ formance was their own fault as follows: While Johnson has argued that he should not be evaluated on the attitudes of his stu­ dents and their unwillingness to learn, evidence on grades, and in particular the large number of student failures, provides evidence of Johnson's inability to teach the man­ dated curriculum. ... Johnson was responsible for transmitting basic information to secondary school stu­ dents. The district adopted a specific curriculum for achieving this objective. Johnson was terminated due to an inability to impart this basic knowledge.36

However, in one case, a teacher who was unable to establish rapport with his stu­ dents was found not incompetent.37 In some states, teaching out of certificate is proof of incompetence.38 School citizenship: grounds relating to in-school behavior and performance of du­ ties other than actual teaching. Some instances may be referred to as "insubordination" or "neglect of duty" in the statutes of some states. Insubordination refers usually to willful, but sometimes even to inadvertent, disobedience either to an officially adopted school rule or to the legitimate order of a supervisor. In one case, the firing of a teacher who refused to execute normal duties associated with a teaching position such as going to faculty meetings and meeting with parents was allowed.39 However, a Kentucky court held that a teacher could not be dismissed for insubor­ dination when merely charged with having failed to "cooperate" with the principal. To prove insubordination, the school had to point to a refusal on the part of the teacher to follow a specific school rule or a specific order.40 Teachers may not be dis­ missed for disobedience when the school rule or order violates their constitutional or statutory rights or the order was beyond the authority of the person issuing it. Thus, the Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal of a competent teacher for publicly criti­ cizing the school board's budgetary policies was an impermissible violation of the teacher's right of free speech.41 To find a teacher insubordinate, it is not necessary to prove a pattern of behavior; a single instance may suffice. For example, a Pennsylvania teacher was dismissed for using sick leave to take a skiing vacation.42 Teachers may also be dismissed, usually on grounds of immorality, for lying about their use of sick leave.43 Refusal to take a new teaching assignment is insubordination44 as is violating rules against using corporal punishment45 or employing certain teaching materials.46 Acts of academic dishonesty such as helping students cheat on tests or obtain a diploma under false pretenses are also generally upheld as causes of dismissal.47 However, some courts will not permit dismissal for minor acts of disobedience that result in no harm to the school.48 Incapacity: grounds relating to the mental or physical inability of the teacher to per­ form the job (but see sec. 7.6 on employment of persons with disabilities). In some in­ stances, incapacity may be referred to as "unfitness" or "neglect of duty." One case upheld the firing of a teacher with a severe personality disorder,49 but another case blocked dismissal of a teacher suffering from temporary mental illness.50 Role model: grounds relating to the teacher as an example for students. Some in­ stances may be referred to as "immorality," "conduct unbecoming" a teacher, or "un­

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fitness" in the statutes of some states. Cases in this category are of three types: teachers convicted or accused of violating a criminal law, teachers engaging in noncriminal ex­ tramarital sex, and teachers committing other noncriminal acts condemned by the school board such as lying. In general, any serious criminal behavior is grounds for dismissal, especially if it in­ volves violence51 or stealing. Courts have permitted the dismissal of teachers con­ victed of theft, welfare fraud, income tax evasion, mail fraud, and sometimes even shoplifting.52 Other cases have supported teacher dismissals for public intoxication, fighting, battery of a fiancee at a night club, negligent homicide arising out of an auto­ mobile accident, and driving under the influence of alcohol.53 A Pennsylvania court ruled that a teacher at a school for students with drug and alcohol problems could be dismissed as a bad role model after three DUI convictions.54 Teachers caught possess­ ing illegal drugs or growing marijuana have also been subject to dismissal.55 In Mis­ souri, a teacher was successfully dismissed following an arrest for indecent exposure for masturbating in a public restroom, exposing himself, and making a homosexual ad­ vance to an undercover policeman.56 Despite these cases, many courts do not permit dismissal for a nonviolent or rela­ tively minor crime unless the school board can establish a connection between the criminal behavior and teaching effectiveness. The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that in order for a teacher to be fired for any act committed away from the job, ei­ ther the conduct must have directly affected the teacher's job performance or the noto­ riety surrounding the teacher's conduct must have significantly affected the teacher's ability to perform teaching duties. In the latter case, the notoriety must have been caused by the act itself, not the school board's consideration of the act.57 Other courts have adopted positions similar to West Virginia's. A Washington state court disallowed the dismissal of a teacher convicted of grand larceny for purchasing a stolen motorcycle, stating that "simply labeling an instructor a convicted felon will not justify a discharge."58 An Ohio court protected a teacher from dismissal even though he had been convicted of leaving the scene of a traffic accident.59 A Montana court ruled that a teacher who had been found guilty three times of driving under the influence could not be dismissed because his crime was not "tantamount to immorality" and there was no proof that the convictions affected his performance as a teacher.60 A New Mexico court reached the same conclusion even though this driver's education teacher was arrested not only for driving under the influence but also for resisting arrest and for battery. The court found that there was no relationship between the teacher's ability to teach and coach and his arrest for DUI and not cooperating with the police. The court noted that the teacher had used the incident as a lesson with his students andplayers.61 Dismissals for noncriminal sexual conduct raise both the statutory issues consid­ ered here and the constitutional issues considered in Section 7.3. An Ohio court barred the dismissal of an associate superintendent, ruling that his adulterous affair with a married school employee could not be considered immoral under state law in the ab­ sence of proof that it created hostility in the school community or had a serious impact on his professional duties. The court specifically rejected reliance on the fact that his colleagues had a negative perception of him and the argument that he was a "bad role model." To rely on the role model argument, said the court, "would open the door to

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allow other teachers to be terminated because of race, religion, political beliefs, and/or sexual orientation simply because the teacher was not 'the type of role model parents want their children to have.'"62 Other courts have taken a similar approach, rejecting dismissal and certificate revo­ cation for consensual unwed sex and for notorious adultery in a disapproving community.63 The major exception is for public performance of intimate sex acts; in one case, a tenured elementary school teacher was successfully dismissed for immorality fol­ lowing her arrest for openly engaging in sexual activities with three men at a "swinger's club."64 Federal law does not permit dismissal of unwed mothers on the grounds of immorality or being a bad role model for students.65 In light of Lawrence v. Texas,66 the Supreme Court's 2003 decision prohibiting states from classifying homosexual sex as a crime, earlier cases upholding the dis­ missal of teachers for merely being gay67 would undoubtedly be decided differently today. It is no longer possible to dismiss homosexual teachers on the grounds that they have engaged in criminal behavior by violating state sodomy laws. Even prior to Law­ rence, the California Supreme Court ruled that state law did not permit revocation of the certificate of a teacher who had engaged in homosexual sex with a consenting adult many years earlier. The court said that certificate revocation would be warranted only if the teacher posed a significant danger to either students or school employees or if there were a proven connection between the teacher's conduct and the teacher's effectiveness.68 (In some jurisdictions, Title VII may also protect against dismissal for being gay, see sec. 7.4). Lying to school officials might sometimes be the basis for a finding of immorality. In one case, a tenured teacher who had been denied permission to attend a conference went anyway and upon returning submitted a request for an excused absence based on illness. The court upheld the dismissal of the teacher saying that immoral behavior was not limited to sexual conduct.69 However, in another case, the court ruled that a teacher could not be dismissed for writing two letters to a recently graduated student, letters that the court said contained gross, vulgar, and offensive language. The court could find no connection between these private letters and the teacher's fitness to teach.70 In general then, despite some cases to the contrary, most courts insist that school boards wishing to fire teachers for immorality demonstrate a connection between the allegedly immoral conduct and teaching effectiveness. If the teacher has committed a serious crime involving violence or a significant theft, a connection—that the teacher's presence in the school poses a danger to persons or property—may be as­ sumed. For less serious crimes, the connection must be established affirmatively. If the alleged connection is that notoriety surrounding the teacher's conduct has led to a loss of respect from students or community members, the notoriety must have occurred as a result of the conduct itself and not because the board publicized the conduct. Posing a threat to pupils: behavior that harms or endangers students may be re­ ferred to as "immorality," "unprofessional conduct," or "unfitness to teach" in the stat­ utes of some states. Drinking or using drugs71 or engaging in illegal, dangerous, or reckless behavior with students is grounds for dismissal as is the physical or verbal abuse of students. Teachers may be dismissed for subjecting students to vulgar or racial invective in or out of class.72 Inappropriate classroom commentary may also be dangerous enough to

DISMISSAL FOR CAUSE

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justify dismissing a teacher. One twelfth-grade teacher was dismissed for explaining the operation of houses of prostitution including minimum age requirements for ad­ mission, discussing the size of a penis, and telling stories about intercourse with vir­ gins and sex with a cow.73 An Iowa court upheld the dismissal of a ninth-grade English teacher who used sarcasm with his students and said to one student who had written a paper on suicide that "for extra credit, why don't you try it."74 Dismissal of teachers who have sex with minors is always upheld. It does not matter whether the minor was currently enrolled in the teacher's school or even in the same school district. Thus, the Maine Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of an elementary teacher who had sexual intercourse with a fifteen-year-old even though she and the boy did not live in the town where she taught.75 Nor does it matter if the sexual relationship took place prior to the teacher's current employment. When a twenty-three-year-old man established that his former elementary school teacher had sexually abused him many years before, the teacher's dismissal was allowed.76 Another case upheld the dis­ missal of a teacher twelve years after having a sexual relationship with a fifteen-yearold student while employed in another school district.77 There is some question as to whether a legal sexual relationship with a student; that is, a consensual relationship with a student who had reached the legal age of consent, is cause for dismissal. Dis­ missal would almost surely be upheld if the student attended the same school where the teacher taught. Dismissal of teachers who engage in sex with minors is not only permissible, but may be legally prudent or even mandatory in some cases. School districts that hire or retain teachers with a history of sexual relationships with minors may be vulnerable to lawsuits for negligent hiring if the behavior is repeated (see sec. 10.5). School districts that fail to act on instances of sexual involvement between teachers and students, even involvement that falls short of sexual intercourse, may be vulnerable to lawsuits under Title IX (see sec. 5.9). However, schools must be careful to differentiate between sex­ ual abuse and harassment and well-intentioned, nonsexual touching.78

Making a Case for Dismissal A case for dismissal becomes stronger when it contains any of the following elements: documented observations of the teacher according to a formalized and properly fol­ lowed evaluation procedure, establishment of a connection between the behavior and teaching effectiveness in the classroom, evidence of incompetence or other grounds based on more than the subjective evaluation by a single school official (but subjective impressions may be part of a properly executed evaluation79), proof that formal steps of remediation were undertaken and failed, proof that the teacher's behavior undermined the educational goals of the school, evidence of specific harms or disruption of the school's educational mission, proof of the violation of a written school rule or policy, the establishment of a pattern of offending behavior, evidence of notices and warnings provided to the teacher, the absence of any sound educational justification for the teacher's behavior, evidence of notoriety over the teacher's behavior diminishing the

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school's or teacher's effectiveness (but not notoriety resulting primarily from the school board's actions), the absence of mitigating circumstances explaining or excus­ ing the teacher's behavior, or evidence that the continuing presence of the teacher in the school poses an educational or physical risk to the students. The testimony of students may be used in making a case for dismissal, as may the re­ sults of a polygraph test.80 A California court has ruled that even illegally obtained evidence—evidence that could not be used in a criminal proceeding against the teacher— may be used in a dismissal proceeding.81 Some courts may exclude hearsay evidence from teacher dismissal hearings or require that hearsay be given very little weight.82 Few things can diminish a school's effectiveness more than a teacher who cannot perform adequately; yet, far fewer teachers are actually dismissed than are consid­ ered incompetent by their supervisors. Reasons for the discrepancy include reluc­ tance to cause harm to the incompetent person, fear of litigation or other unpleasant repercussions, and the belief that incompetence can more easily be dealt with through other methods such as forced resignation. The latter approach—forcing res­ ignation by making working conditions intolerable—is known as "constructive dis­ charge." Although it may be desirable to give an unsatisfactory employee the opportunity to resign before instituting formal proceedings, courts often view con­ structive discharge as a violation of due process. Employees who voluntarily resign will usually find courts unsympathetic if they try to rescind their action unless they can show a significant degree of coercion. Whereas failing to fire an incompetent teacher rarely results in litigation, dismissals for constitutionally or statutorily impermissible reasons often do. Typically, these cases arise when administrators act out of anger or personal animosity toward a teacher, in the face of community pressure, or when the teacher lives an unorthodox lifestyle. School officials serve their students, teachers, and community best and are far less likely to find themselves on the losing side of a lawsuit when they act on the basis of professional standards and statutory requirements and not out of personal pique or political pressure. 8.5

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

As with students, rules that govern the behavior of teachers must meet the basic due process requirement that they not be vague or overbroad (see sec. 4.1). In one case, a Nebraska teacher disciplined by his school board for violating the state law against corporal punishment of students argued that the law was impermissibly vague. The teacher had either "tapped" or "slapped" the student on the back of the head in frustra­ tion when the student repeatedly ignored his orders. Citing Supreme Court precedent, the court stated that "due process requires that [a rule] supply (1) a person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited and (2) explicit stan­ dards for those who apply it.... The test is whether the defendant could reasonably un­ derstand that his conduct was proscribed by the statute." Although the court agreed that corporal punishment might have been more carefully defined in the law, it nonetheless ruled that the term was not so vague as to violate due process. The court did agree with the teacher's contention that "that portion of the board's order requiring that [the teacher] 'obtain adequate professional counseling' is

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so vague as to be virtually unenforceable. Without a minimum of objective standards setting forth the duration of the counseling, or the payment provisions or nature of the mandatory counseling, this portion of the order is subject to the most arbitrary kind of enforcement by the board."83 In making a case for the dismissal of a teacher, the school board must follow certain procedures. The Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, lays down the minimum procedural requirements that all dismissals must satisfy. State statutory law and local policy must at least comply with these minimum requirements, but states and school districts may and often do adopt additional or stronger procedural requirements than the Constitution requires. Local school district procedures regarding teacher firings may be found in individual teacher contracts, collective bargaining agreements, or the policy statements of local school boards. Whatever their source, school district proce­ dures must be consistent with state requirements. Two Supreme Court cases, decided at the same time, deal with the issue of when the Constitution requires due process for teacher dismissals. Although these are higher ed­ ucation cases, the same principles apply in the lower schools. The first case, Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth,84 involved a teacher who was not rehired after his first year of teaching at a public college. He was not given a hearing or any statement of reasons, but was simply informed that his contract would not be renewed. The second case, Perry v. Sindermann,85 also involved a state college's nonrenewal without a hear­ ing of a nontenured teacher, but this time one who had been working in the system for ten years. Both teachers claimed that they should have been entitled to a hearing under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In finding against Roth but in favor of Sindermann, the Supreme Court drew impor­ tant distinctions between the two cases. The Fourteenth Amendment only requires due process when the state seeks to deprive a person of property or liberty. But Roth had been given no promise of employment beyond the duration of his contract or any rea­ son to expect that he would be rehired. Nor had the nonrenewal been handled in such a manner as to jeopardize Roth's reputation or his prospects for employment elsewhere. Thus, he had no property or liberty interest at stake and no constitutional claim to due process. By contrast, Sindermann's school had a written policy and long-standing practice of rehiring its teachers as long as their "teaching services are satisfactory." Furthermore, although Sindermann had not been formally notified of the reasons for his nonrenewal, the college had issued a press release "setting forth allegations of [his] insubordina­ tion," thus damaging his reputation as a teacher. Unlike Roth, Sindermann did have a property interest in continued employment and a liberty interest in restoring his reputa­ tion and, therefore, a constitutional right to due process. All teachers have a property interest in continued employment for the duration of their contracts. In addition, the ef­ fect of state tenure and continuing contract statutes is to grant a legally enforceable ex­ pectation of continued employment to teachers who have been hired beyond the probationary period. However, Roth and Sindermann indicate that not every personnel action entails a constitutional right to due process. Unless due process is specifically mandated by state statute, the nonrenewal of a probationary teacher's contract usually does not re­ quire a formal hearing or even notification of reasons (see sec. 8.3). By contract, cus­

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torn, statute, and even definition, probationary teachers do not have a legal expectation of continued employment or reemployment; probationary teachers do not have a prop­ erty interest in their jobs beyond the expiration date of their contract. As the Court said in Roth, "abstract need or desire" or "unilateral expectation" is not enough to establish a property right. Unless state law or district policy specifically grants them due pro­ cess, probationary teachers usually succeed in establishing a property right to employ­ ment only if they are dismissed in the middle of their contract or, as in Sindermann, if there exists a de facto policy that creates the equivalent of tenure. As discussed in Roth, personnel actions taken in retaliation for speech activities re­ quire due process, "whether or not the speech or press interest is clearly protected under substantive First Amendment standards." Roth also suggests that actions that might seriously damage a teacher's reputation or standing within the community or impair prospects for future employment also may be viewed as deprivations of liberty requiring due process. Thus, teachers, whether tenured or not, have occasionally suc­ ceeded in claiming that transfers, demotions, failure to provide salary increases, fail­ ure to grant tenure, or temporary suspensions should have been accompanied by procedural protections. This is most likely to occur when an adverse decision is based on publicly made charges. Charges of intoxication, racism, and mental instability have been found sufficiently stigmatizing to require due process.86 In other cases, however, allegations of poor job performance such as incompetence, inadequacy, and insubordi­ nation have not been found to require due process.87 Once it is decided that a teacher has a right to procedural due process, the question be­ comes: What process is due? In Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 88 the Su­ preme Court considered the issue of whether the Constitution requires specific due process procedures for tenured public employees such as teachers in addition to the due process rights that may be specified by state law. Although the Court recognized that the government may have a significant "interest in quickly removing an unsatisfactory em­ ployee," it nevertheless ruled that a tenured employee's interest in avoiding unwarranted dismissal was important enough to require at least a minimal opportunity for a preterm­ ination hearing. The minimum constitutional requirements for the hearing are similar to those afforded to a student prior to suspension from school: "The tenured public em­ ployee is entitled to oral or written notice of the charges against him, an explanation of the employer's evidence, and an opportunity to present his side of the story." Loudermill makes clear that the Constitution imposes due process procedures inde­ pendent of the requirements of state law. Where state law specifies post-termination procedures adequate to "definitively resolve the propriety of the discharge," preterm­ ination proceedings need not be elaborate. All that is required is some notice of the charges and supporting evidence and an opportunity to refute them. An investigation, no matter how thorough, cannot substitute for a hearing. Thus, a teacher who was sus­ pended for four days and then transferred following an investigation for possible child abuse, but without a hearing, successfully claimed that his due process rights had been violated. The court ruled that the suspension and transfer implicated both property and liberty interests thereby requiring an opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine adverse witnesses.89 Loudermill does not fully specify the level of due process required when educa­ tional employment contracts are terminated. In teacher dismissal cases, state statutes

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generally require advanced notice of the charges and a hearing before an impartial tribunal. To satisfy constitutional and statutory requirements, the notice must be given sufficiently in advance of the hearing and be sufficiently precise to allow the preparation of a defense.90 In one case, a notice informing a teacher being charged with "insubordination based upon the fact you refuse to cooperate with the principal of your school" was found to be inadequate.91 Similarly, merely charging a teacher with "incompetence" is not adequate notice.92 To satisfy due process requirements, the notice should support its charges with indications of the specific unacceptable behaviors and deficiencies. Careful crafting of charges is important also because the hearing may not consider charges not listed in the notice or evidence not relevant to those charges. Due process requires that the outcome of the hearing be determined by impartial de­ cision makers. Impartiality may be questioned if the decision maker has a conflict of interest, harbors personal animosity toward the employee, prejudges the case, acts as both judge and "prosecutor," meets with the "prosecutor" or others with interests op­ posed to the employee outside the hearing, or considers evidence not presented at the hearing. In Hortonville Joint School District No. 1 v. Hortonville Education Ass 'n,93 a group of teachers fired while engaging in an illegal strike claimed that their due pro­ cess rights had been violated. To support their claim, the teachers argued that the board of education, which had made the decision to fire them, could not be impartial because the board and the teachers were on opposite sides of the strike. In rejecting the teach­ ers' argument, the Supreme Court noted that "the Board is the only body vested by [state] statute with the power to employ and dismiss teachers." The Court concluded that simply because the board was "involved in the events" preceding the firing was not enough "to overcome the presumption of honesty and integrity in policymakers with decisionmaking power." Hortonville tolerates decision makers with prejudgments on what constitutes suffi­ cient grounds for dismissal or other policy matters, but prejudgment of the facts or the outcome of a specific case violates due process.94 Courts will disqualify decision mak­ ers when there is proof of actual bias or prejudice. Bias on the part of one member of a dismissal hearing panel is enough to taint the entire process.95 In one case, a member of a teacher dismissal hearing panel asked for and received extra compensation from the school board. The court ruled that the extra compensation created an appearance of im­ propriety sufficient to indicate a violation of the teacher's right to an impartial hearing.96A history of heated exchanges between the employee and decision maker is not usually enough to prove bias.97 Some states permit or require local school boards to conduct teacher dismissal hear­ ings, but others require an independent hearing officer or panel selected according to specified procedures. For example, New York law requires that the hearing panel be made up of three nondistrict employees picked by the school board and the teacher from a list of state-approved hearing officers. Other states allow the teacher and school board each to designate one member of a three-member panel. The first two members must then jointly choose the third. Another method is to have the state provide a list of qualified hearing officers. The list is passed back and forth between teacher and school board, each in turn crossing out one name until the last remaining name is designated to hear the case.

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One potentially conflictive aspect of the hearing process is the role of the prosecu­ tor. Plaintiffs sometimes question the impartiality of the school board when the case against the teacher is presented by the board's own regular attorney, but courts have re­ jected this claim.98 More troublesome for the courts is when the school's attorney or other official involved in prosecuting the case joins the board in its deliberations. When this occurs, the prosecution gets a second chance to influence the board without the defense being given an equivalent opportunity. As unfair as this practice may seem, the courts have split regarding its permissibility." State statutes may grant teachers the right to an attorney or other representative in dismissal hearings. Where no statute exists, a majority of the few courts that have con­ sidered the issue have concluded that teachers do have a right to counsel.100 Courts also protect an accused teacher's right to confront and cross-examine wit­ nesses including witnesses who testify by written affidavit, to receive a tape or tran­ script of the hearing, and to receive a written or oral statement of reasons for the decision.101 Many states' laws grant the right to appeal the decision of the local board or hearing panel to the state commissioner of education or some other administrative agency. Subject to certain conditions, appeals may also be taken to the courts. The most important condition is that courts will not usually hear appeals unless all adminis­ trative remedies afforded by state law or local policy have been exhausted.

8.6

REDUCTION IN FORCE

Reduction in force (RIF) refers to dismissal because of financial exigency, declining enrollment, or a decision to discontinue a particular program or service. Realignment of the workforce, including transfers and demotions for economic reasons, is governed by different statutes than those governing nonrenewal of probationary teachers, dis­ missals for cause, and disciplinary transfers and demotions. Many states' statutes re­ quire RIF dismissals in reverse order of seniority. Other states take different approaches. Nebraska law provides that before a school board may dismiss a teacher as part of a RIF, the board must have proof that a change in circumstances necessitated the reduction, the change in circumstances is specifically related to the affected teacher, and there are no vacancies for which the teacher is qualified.102 The West Virginia Supreme Court rejected the view that state law required that a RIF be done strictly according to seniority. The court ruled that the board must also consider years of teaching experience in a given subject area.103 Collective bargaining agreements may also affect RIF policies and procedures. Legal challenges to RIFs include claims that: • Economic circumstances or drops in enrollment did not justify the RIF.104 • Abolition of a position did not in fact occur; instead, the same position was re­ tained under a different title.105 • The RIF prevented the provision of mandated services or improperly affected the quality of the education program.106 • The order of dismissal violated seniority or other statutory mandate.107 • A demotion as part of the RIF plan was arbitrary and violated seniority rights.108

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

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225

The statutorily prescribed order of reinstatement and recall was violated.109 RIF procedures violated statutory due process requirements.110 RIF procedures violated contractual requirements.111 The RIF policy was racially discriminatory.112 LEAVES OF ABSENCE

School boards have the authority to grant leaves of absence for personal reasons such as illness, for professional reasons such as to pursue additional training, or for public service such as military or jury duty. Boards also have the authority to impose involun­ tary leave on teachers who are physically or mentally unfit if the teachers' procedural due process rights are satisfied.113 Boards may not, however, grant a leave that consti­ tutes a gift of public money to a private individual. Litigation concerning a leave of absence may involve the claim that a school board violated its own policy, the collective bargaining agreement, state statute, federal anti­ discrimination law, or the Constitution. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that manda­ tory pregnancy or postpartum leaves of absence violate the teachers' right of privacy.114 Federal antidiscrimination laws prohibit treating pregnancy differently from other disabilities, such as not allowing pregnant teachers to use sick leave.115 Fed­ eral law also prohibits religious discrimination in the administration of a personal leave policy (see sec. 7.5). 8.8

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

Teachers injured on the job have two possible paths to compensation from their school district. If the teacher's injury results from careless, reckless, or intentionally wrongful behavior on the part of the district or another of its employees, the teacher may be able to sue the district for negligence or another tort (see chap. 10); however, such suits may only be brought for injuries that are not eligible for redress under the system known as "workers' compensation." In most, but not all, states, teachers are covered by workers' compensation statutes. Although workers' compensation laws vary from state to state, all are designed to pro­ vide compensation to employees for on-the-job injuries regardless of whether their employers were negligent. The idea is that employers should be responsible for the harm suffered by employees in the course of conducting their employer's business. In most states, an employee's injury resulting from the intentionally wrongful behavior of the employer or a coworker (see sec. 10.1) is not covered by workers' compensation, but workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for injuries caused by simple neg­ ligence (see sec. 10.4) on the part of an employer. To be eligible for compensation, a teacher or any employee must prove the exis­ tence of three elements: (a) an injury by accident, (b) arising out of, and (c) in the course of, employment. At one time, the accident requirement meant that the employee had to prove the oc­ currence of a sudden impact related to something other than routine work. Occupa­ tional diseases and back injuries or hernias suffered during routine lifting were

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excluded from coverage. This narrow notion of an accident has given way to a broader interpretation so that now teachers may also seek compensation for injuries that de­ velop slowly over time or are caused by routine tasks, such as lifting books. Teachers are also covered if preexisting conditions are aggravated by their work. Thus, an onthe-job heart attack may be compensable even if it results in part from years of un­ healthy living. However, some states will not require workers' compensation to cover heart attacks unless caused by work stress greater than most people experience during normal daily living. Under some conditions, job-induced mental illness and even stress may be compen­ sable. Harassment of any kind—sexual, racial, or just personal animosity—is a com­ mon source of compensable stress. In one case, a teacher successfully claimed workers' compensation after being falsely accused of sexually harassing a student.116 However, unless the employer acts unreasonably, claims for compensation for stress arising from overwork, discipline, denial of promotion, layoff, or discharge are usu­ ally denied. For example, one court refused to allow a claim for work-related mental stress because there was no proof that the claimant's particular working conditions were uniquely stressful (she supervised bus routes and other transportation-related matters). The court noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the stress the claimant experienced was the result of anything other than her own mismanagement of the position.117 Once the accident element is proven, a teacher claiming workers' compensation must next show that the injury arose out of the job of teaching. In most states, to satisfy this element, the teacher must show that the act of doing the job increased the probabil­ ity of the injury. For example, this element can usually be proven in the case of a teacher injured by a student's assault because teaching increases the likelihood of being assaulted. The final element of a workers' compensation claim is to show that the injury oc­ curred in the course of employment. This element focuses on where the injury occurred and what the employee was doing at the time. Hence, a teacher who is injured in a car accident while commuting to work would not be covered, but once the teacher crosses the school's property line the commute is over and coverage begins. Teachers injured while driving off campus on school business would also be covered. A teacher may lose coverage by engaging in willful misconduct, such as being drunk or disobeying the law or the school's rules. In most states, the workers' compensation system operates outside the regular court system. Claims must be prosecuted through an administrative agency created specifi­ cally for that purpose. Some states have a separate agency for public employees like teachers. In most states, a claim is first decided by a hearing officer, and both sides have the option of appealing to the full agency. The agency's decisions may then be ap­ pealed to a court on either procedural or substantive grounds. All states' workers' compensation systems require the employee to promptly notify the employer of any injury and establish time limits and procedures for filing claims. Failure to satisfy these requirements will result in a denial of claims. Successful claims may result in compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost wages, disability or disfigurement, or death benefits to surviving dependents, but there is a limit to the amount that may be awarded, and no punitive damages are allowed. Monetary dam­

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ages under workers' compensation are usually less than they would have been if a suc­ cessful tort suit could have been brought.118

8.9

SUMMARY

Most of the law relevant to the hiring and firing of teachers is found in state statutes. States are free to set whatever teacher certification requirements they wish, except that standards may not be arbitrary, racially discriminatory, or otherwise violative of constitutional rights. Because certification does not amount to a contractual agree­ ment, states may also set new standards for certification retention even by "life-certificated" teachers. For their part, schools are free to offer employment to whomever they deem most qualified, provided that the candidate meets state eligibility requirements, including certification, and that the hiring process does not violate federal constitutional or statu­ tory provisions. Once hired, teachers may be assigned to any school, grade level, or subject matter for which they are qualified unless their contract says otherwise. They may also be assigned extra duty and tasks reasonably connected to the legitimate edu­ cational goals of the school and their job, again subject to contractual constraints. Schools also have wide latitude in the evaluation and contract renewal decision con­ cerning probationary teachers. In many states, a school may decide not to renew the contract of a teacher in the first three years of employment for any constitutionally per­ missible reason and without granting a hearing or following any specific procedures. It may not even be necessary to reveal the reasons for the decision to the teacher. About half of the states do have some guidelines regarding the decision not to renew a begin­ ning teacher. Generally, these amount to requirements that the teacher receive at least a minimal evaluation, that the reasons for the nonrenewal be given, and that the teacher have an opportunity to provide a rebuttal. Even in states with these requirements, dis­ tricts are generally free to nonrenew for any constitutionally permissible reason, pro­ vided statutory procedural requirements are met. The situation regarding tenured teachers is quite different. Each state's statutes es­ tablish a list of the only acceptable bases for termination or nonrenewal of the contract of a teacher who has passed the probationary period. Although the wording varies con­ siderably from state to state, acceptable causes for dismissal can be grouped into five categories: incompetence, violation of role model obligations, poor citizenship within the school, posing a threat to students, and incapacity. The law places the burden of proof on the school to show, in many states through a prescribed evaluation process, that the teacher falls into one of the dismissable categories. Unlike with probationary teachers, the law does not permit the firing of a tenured teacher to hire someone who is cheaper or better. In addition to the requirement that dismissal be for a specified cause, both the Con­ stitution and state statutes impose significant procedural due process requirements on tenured-teacher firings. In general, the Constitution requires an impartial hearing in­ cluding a statement of charges and a reasonable opportunity to refute them. Most states' statutes specify additional procedures, often granting a right to counsel, to call and cross-examine witnesses, to receive a transcript of the proceedings, and to appeal.

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Because a great deal is at stake and the risk of litigation is very high, firings should comply with both the letter and spirit of all relevant law. Reduction in force—dismissal of teachers because funds are lacking or programs eliminated—is also primarily controlled by state statute. Most of the litigation chal­ lenging a specific RIF is resolved by comparing the specific procedures employed with the requirements of state statutes. A common but not universal feature of these statutes is that more recently hired teachers be let go before those with greater seniority. School boards may grant voluntary leaves of absence or impose involuntary leaves consistent with federal and state law and their own policies and contractual agreement. Leave-of-absence policies may not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or preg­ nancy. Teachers injured at work may receive payment in accordance with the workers' compensation laws of their state. To be eligible for workers' compensation, a teacher must sustain an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment. NOTES 1. 441 U.S. 68(1979). 2. Johnson v. Cassell, 387 S.E.2d 553 (W. Va. 1989); see also Bradford Cent. Sch. Dist. v. Ambach, 436 N.E.2d 1256 (N.Y. 1982). 3. Commonwealth v. Great Valley Sch. Dist., 352 A.2d 252 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1976). 4. State v. Project Principle, Inc., 724 S.W.2d 387 (Tex. 1987). 5. Adams v. State, 406 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1981). 6. 216 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1974). 7. Pittsburgh Fed'n of Teachers Local 400 v. Aaron, 417 F. Supp. 94 (W.D. Pa. 1976). 8. Harrah Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Martin, 440 U.S. 194 (1979). 9. Congress of Teachers v. Bd. of Educ. of Patchogue-Medford Union Free Sch. Dist., 510 N.E.2d 325 (N.Y. 1987). 10. 20 U.S.C. § 6319(a)(l). 11. 20 U.S.C. § 6311. 12. 20 U.S.C. § 6319(c). 13. Gibbons v. New Castle Area Sch. Dist., 500 A.2d 922 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1985); Adtlet v. Richmond Sch. Dist., 58 Cal. Rptr. 151 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967); Appeal of Santee, 156 A.2d 830 (Pa. 1959). 14. Commonwealth ex rel. Wesenberg v. Sch. Dist. of Bethlehem, 24 A.2d 673 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1942). 15. Harrisburg R-VIII Sch. Dist. v. O'Brian, 540 S.W.2d 945 (Mo. Ct. App. 1976); Dist. 300 Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of Dundee Cmty., 334 N.E.2d 165 (111. App. Ct. 1975). 16. Bd. of Educ. of Asbury Park v. Asbury Park Educ. Ass'n, 368 A.2d 396 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div.), aff'd in part and appeal dismissed in part, 382 A.2d 392 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1977). 17. Swager v. Bd. of Educ., Unified Sch. Dist. No. 412, 688 P.2d 270 (Kan. Ct. App. 1984). 18. Lexington County Sch. Dist. 1 Bd. of Trustees v. Bost, 316 S.E.2d 677 (S.C. 1984). 19. Goodwin v. Bennett County High Sch. Indep. Sch. Dist., 226 N.W.2d 166 (S.D. 1975). 20. Candelori v. Bd. of Educ. of New Britain, 428 A.2d 331 (Conn. 1980). 21. State ex rel. McKenna v. District No. 8, 10 N.W.2d 155 (Wis. 1943). 22. Indiana ex rel. Anderson v. Brand, 303 U.S. 95 (1938). 23. Lambert v. Bd. of Educ. of Middle Country Cent. Sch. Dist., 664 N.Y.S.2d 422 (Sup. Ct. 1997); see also Conetta v. Bd. of Educ. of Patchogue, 629 N.Y.S.2d 640 (Sup. Ct. 1995). 24. Cases granting tenure: HarrodsburgBd. of Educ. v. Powell, 792 S.W.2d376 (Ky. Ct. App. 1990); Day v. Prowers County Sch. Dist. RE-1, 725 P.2d 14 (Colo. Ct. App. 1986); Fucinari v. Dearborn Bd. of Educ., 188N.W.2d229(Mich. Ct.App. 1971). Contra Bessie* v. Bd. of Educ. of Chartered Sch. Dist., 356 N.E.2d 1253 (111. App. Ct. 1976), modified, 370 N.E.2d 1050 (111. 1977); Snell v. Brothers, 527 S.W.2dll4(Tenn. 1975). 25. State v. Bd. of Educ. of South Point, 339 N.E.2d 249 (Ohio 1975); Hedrick v. Bd. of Educ., 332 S.E.2d 109(W.Va. 1985). 26. Farringtonv. Sch. Comm. of Cambridge, 415 N.E.2d 211 (Mass. 1981).

NOTES 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

229

OHIO REV. CODE ANN.§ 3319.111. Asadoorian v. Warwick Sch. Comm., 691 A.2d 573 (R.I. 1997). DeMichele v. Greenburgh Cent. Sch. Dist. No. 7, 167 F.3d 784 (2d Cir. 1999). Gilliland v. Bd. of Educ. of Pleasant View, 365 N.E.2d 322 (111. 1977). Grissom v. Bd. of Educ. of Buckley-Loda Cmty. Sch. Dist. No. 8, 388 N.E.2d 398 (111. 1979); Weissman v. Bd. of Educ. of Jefferson County Sch. Dist. No. R-l, 547 P.2d 1267 (Colo. 1976) (en bane). 32. Bd. of Dir. of Sioux City v. Mroz, 295 N.W.2d 447 (Iowa 1980). 33. Bd. of Educ. of Philadelphia v. Kushner, 530 A.2d 541 (Pa. 1987). 34. Sekor v. Bd. of Educ. of Ridgefield, 689 A.2d 1112 (Conn. 1997). 35. Collins v. Faith Sch. Dist. No. 46-2, 574 N.W.2d 889 (S.D. 1998). 36. In re Proposed Termination of James E. Johnson, 451 N.W.2d 343 (Minn. 1990); see also Whaley v. Anoka-Hennepin Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 11, 325 N.W.2d 128 (Minn. 1982). 37. Powell v.Bd. of Trustees of Crook County Sch. Dist. No. 1, 550 P.2d 1112 (Wyo. 1976). 38. Chambers v. Bd. of Educ. of Lisbon Cent. Sch. Dist., 391 N.E.2d 1270 (N.Y. 1979). 39. Meckley v. Kanawha County Bd. of Educ., 383 S.E.2d 839 (W. Va. 1989). 40. Osborne v. Bullitt County Bd. of Educ., 415 S.W.2d 607 (Ky. Ct. App. 1967). 41. Pickering v. Bd. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563 (1968) (see sec. 7.1). 42. Riverview Sch. Dist. v. Riverview Educ. Ass'n, 639 A.2d 974 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1994). 43. Bethel Park Sch. Dist. v. Krall, 445 A.2d 1377 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1982). 44. Thomas v. Mahan, 886 S.W.2d 199 (Mo. App. 1994). 45. Fisher v. Fairbanks N. Star Borough Sch. Dist., 704 P.2d 213 (Alaska 1985). 46. Ware v. Morgan County Sch. Dist. No. RE-3, 748 P.2d 1295 (Colo. 1988) (en banc). 47. Carangelo v. Ambach, 515 N.Y.S.2d 665 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). 48. Rust v. Clark County Sch. Dist., 683 P.2d 23 (Nev. 1984). 49. Fitzpatrick v. Bd. of Educ. of Mamaroneck, 465 N.Y.S.2d 240 (N.Y. App. Div. 1983). 50. Smith v. Bd. of Educ. of Fort Madison, 293 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 1980). 51. In re Thomas, 926 S.W.2d 163 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996); Skripchuk v. Austin, 379 A.2d 1142 (Del. Super. Ct. 1977). 52. Bd. of Dir. of Lawton-Bronson v. Davies, 489 N.W.2d 19 (Iowa 1992); Startzel v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Educ., 562 A.2d 1005 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1989); In re Shelton, 408 N.W.2d 594 (Minn. Ct. App. 1987); Ferryman v. Sch. Comm. of Boston, 458 N.E.2d 748 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983); Logan v. Warren County Bd. of Educ., 549 F. Supp. 145 (S.D. Ga. 1982). 53. Watson v. State Bd. of Educ., 99 Cal. Rptr. 468 (Cal. Ct. App. 1971); Williams v. Sch. Dist. No. 40 of Gila County, 417 P.2d 376 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1966); Purvis v. Marion County Sch. Bd., 766 So. 2d 492 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2000); Ellis v. Ambach, 124 A.D.2d 854 (N.Y. App. Div. 1986); Scott v. Bd. of Educ. of Alton, 156 N.E.2d 1 (111. App. Ct. 1959). 54. Zelno v. Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 Bd. of Dirs., 786 A.2d 1022 (Pa. Commw. 2001). 55. Chicago Bd. of Educ. v. Payne, 430 N.E.2d 310 (111. App. Ct. 1981); Adams v. State Prof'l Practices Council, 406 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. App. 1981); Dominy v. Mays, 257 S.E.2d 317 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979); Gedney v. Bd. of Educ., 703 A.2d 804 (Conn. App. Ct. 1997). 56. C.F.S. v. Mahan, 934 S.W.2d 615 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996). 57. Golden v. Bd. of Educ., 285 S.E.2d 665 (W. Va. 1982); see also Rogliano v. Fayette County Bd. of Educ., 349 S.E.2d 220 (W.Va. 1986). 58. Hoagland v. Mount Vernon Sch. Dist. No. 320, 623 P.2d 1156 (Wash. 1981). 59. Hale v. Bd. of Educ. of Lancaster, 234 N.E.2d 583 (Ohio 1968). 60. Lindgren v. Bd. of Trustees, High Sch. Dist. No. 1, 558 P.2d 468 (Mont. 1976). 61. In re Termination of Kibbe, 996 P.2d 419 (N. M. 1999). 62. Bertolini v. Whitehall City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Ed., 744 N.E.2d 1245 (Ohio Ct. App. 2000). 63. Sherboume v. Sch. Bd. of Suwannee County, 455 So. 2d 1057 (Fla. App. 1984); Erb v. Iowa State Bd. of Pub. Instruction, 216 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1974). 64. Pettit v. State Bd. of Educ., 513 P.2d 889 (Cal. 1973); see also Bd. of Educ. v. Calderon, 110 Cal. Rptr. 916 (Cal. Ct. App. 1973); Sarac v. State Bd. of Educ., 57 Cal. Rptr. 69 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967); Stephens v. Bd. of Educ., Sch. Dist. No. 5, 429 N.W.2d 722 (Neb. 1988). 65. Avery v. Homewood City Bd. of Educ., 674 F.2d 337 (Former 5th Cir. 1982); Andrews v. Drew Mun. Separate Sch. Dist., 507 F.2d 611 (5th Cir.). 66. 123 S.Ct. 2472 (2003).

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67. Gaylord v. Tacoma Sch. Dist. No. 10, 559 P.2d 1340 (Wash. Ct. App.), aff'd, 535 P.2d 804 (Wash. 1975) (en banc). 68. Morrison v. State Bd. of Educ., 461 P.2d 375 (Cal. 1969). 69. Bethel Park Sch. Dist. v. Krall, 445 A.2d 1377 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1982). 70. Jarvella v. Willoughby-East Lake City Sch. Dist., 233 N.E.2d 143 (Ohio 1967). 71. Bd. of Educ. of Hopkins County v. Wood, 717 S.W.2d 837 (Ky. 1986). 72. Ware v. Morgan County Sch. Dist., 748 P.2d 1295 (Colo. 1988); Bovino v. Bd. of Sch. Dir. of the Ind. Area Sch. Dist., 377 A.2d 1284 (Pa. 1977); Clarke v. Bd. of Educ. of Omaha, 338 N.W.2d 272 (Neb. 1983). 73. State v. Bd. of Sch. Dir. of Milwaukee, 111 N.W.2d 198 (Wis. 1961). 74. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Dir. v. Lundblad, 528 N.W.2d 593 (Iowa 1995). 75. Elvin v. City of Waterville, 573 A.2d 381 (Me. 1990). 76. Fisher v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 622, 357 N.W.2d 152 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984). 77. Toney v. Fairbanks N. Star Borough Sch. Dist., 881 P.2d 1112 (Alaska 1994). 78. Youngman v. Doerhoff, 890 S.W.2d 330 (Mo. App. 1994). 79. Iversonv. Wall Bd. of Educ., 522 N.W.2d 188 (S.D. 1994). 80. Libe v. Bd. of Educ. of Twin Cedars, 350 N.W.2d 748 (Iowa Ct. App. 1984). 81. Governing Bd. of Mountain View Sch. Dist. v. Metcalf, 111 Cal. Rptr. 724 (Cal. Ct. App. 1974). 82. See Youngman v. Doerhoff, 890 S.W.2d 330 (Mo. App. 1994). 83. Daily v. Bd. of Educ. of Morrill County Sch. Dist. No. 62-0063, 588 N.W.2d 813 (Neb. 1999). 84. 408 U.S. 564(1972). 85. 408 U.S. 593(1972). 86. McKnightv. Southeastern Pa. Transp.Auth., 583 F.2d 1229 (3d Cir. 1978); Wellner v.Minn. State Ju­ nior Coll. Bd., 487 F.2d 153 (8th Cir. 1973); Bomhoff v. White, 526 F. Supp. 488 (D. Ariz. 1981). 87. Gray v. Union County Intermediate Educ. Dist., 520 F.2d 803 (9th Cir. 1975); Beitzell v. Jeffery, 643 F.2d 870 (lstCir. 1981). 88. 470 U.S. 532(1985). 89. Winegar v. Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 20 F.3d 895 (8th Cir. 1994). 90. Staton v. Mayes, 552 F.2d 908 (10th Cir. 1977); Benton v. Bd. of Educ. of Winnebago, 361 N.W.2d 515 (Neb. 1985); Hawkins v. Bd. of Pub. Educ. in Wilmington, 468 F. Supp. 201 (D. Del. 1979). 91. Osborne v. Bullitt County Bd. of Educ., 415 S.W.2d 607 (Ky. Ct. App. 1967). 92. Bd. of Educ. of Clarke County v. Oliver, 116 So. 2d 566 (Ala. 1959). 93. 426 U.S. 482(1976). 94. Staton v. Mayes, 552 F.2d 908 (10th Cir. 1977). 95. Crump v. Bd. of Educ. of Hickory Admin. Sch. Unit, 392 S.E.2d 579 (N.C. 1990). 96. Syquia v. Bd. of Educ., 579 N.Y.S.2d 487 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992). 97. Simard v. Bd. of Educ. of Groton, 473 F.2d 988 (2d Cir. 1973). 98. Niemi v. Bd. of Educ., 303 N.W.2d 105 (Mich. Ct. App. 1981). 99. Kinsella v. Bd. of Educ. of Amherst & Towanda, 378 F. Supp. 54 (W.D.N.Y. 1974), aff'd, 542 F.2d 1165 (2d Cir. 1976); White v. Bd. of Educ., 501 P.2d 358 (Haw. 1972); Miller v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. No. 132, Cook County, 200 N.E.2d. 838 (111. App. Ct. 1964). 100. Cochran v. Chidester Sch. Dist., 456 F. Supp. 390 (W.D. Ark. 1978); Doe v. Anker, 451 F. Supp. 241 (S.D.N.Y. 1978), remanded, 614 F.2d 1286 (2d Cir. 1979); Frumkin v. Bd. of Trustees, Kent State Univ., 626 F.2d 19 (6th Cir. 1980). 101. McGree v. Draper, 564 F.2d 902 (10th Cir. 1977), appeal after remand, 639 F.2d 639 (10th Cir. 1981); McClure v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 16, 228 F.3d 120 (10th Cir. 2000). 102. Nickel v. Saline County Sch. Dist. No. 163, 559 N.W.2d 480 (Neb. 1997). 103. State ex rel. Melchiori v. Bd. of Educ., 425 S.E.2d 251 (W. Va. 1992). 104. Laird v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 317, 346 N.W.2d 153 (Minn. 1984). 105. Baron v. Mackreth, 260 N.E.2d 554 (N.Y. 1970). 106. Geduldig v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 351 N.Y.S.2d 167 (N.Y. App. Div. 1974). 107. Peck v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 16, 348 N.W.2d 100 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984). 108. Green v. Jenkintown Sch. Dist, 441 A.2d 816 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1982). 109. Massey v. Argenbright, 683 P.2d 1332 (Mont. 1984). 110. Palone v. Jefferson Parish Sch. Bd., 306 So. 2d 679 (La. 1975).

NOTES 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118.

Law v. Mandan Pub. Sch. Dist., 411 N.W.2d 375 (N.D. 1987). Taxman v. Bd. of Educ. of Piscataway, 91 F.3d 1547 (3d Cir. 1996). Newman v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y., 594 F.2d 299 (2d Cir. 1979). Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632 (1974). 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e). Crochiere v. Bd. of Educ., 630 A.2d 1027 (Conn. 1993). King v. Bd. of Educ., 716 A.2d 1077 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1998). Dudley v. Victor Lynn Lines, Inc., 161 A.2d 479 (N.J. 1960).

231

CHAPTER

9

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING,

UNIONS, AND TEACHER

CONTRACTS

Many facets of the relationship between a board of education and its teachers are regu­ lated by the Constitution and federal and state statutes. Within the boundaries set by these laws, the terms and conditions of a teacher's employment are set by a contractual agreement. For more than three-fourths of teachers today, most of the terms of the agreement are determined through a process of collective bargaining in which a union represents and negotiates for all of a district's teachers simultaneously. Ultimately, whether or not collective bargaining takes place, each teacher must enter into a con­ tract with the employing board of education. This chapter considers the legal frame­ work for collective bargaining and contract formation in education.

9.1

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS: AN OVERVIEW

Since the late nineteenth century, collective bargaining has been politically and legally controversial in the United States. Until the 1930s, collective bargaining did not enjoy legal protection. In fact, private employers were able to use the law to suppress strikes, picketing, and even the formation of unions. However, following the 1932 election of President Franklin Roosevelt, a series of federal laws was enacted limiting the power of federal courts to issue injunctions against union activities, authorizing the forma­ tion of unions, and imposing on employers the legal duty to bargain collectively. Many states made similar changes in their own laws. For several reasons, the emergence of collective bargaining in the public sector oc­ curred more slowly. First, collective bargaining was seen as incompatible with the 232

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS: AN OVERVIEW

233

concept of government sovereignty and the principle that government decision mak­ ing should be democratically controlled. Second, collective bargaining was viewed as a form of unlawful delegation of government authority. Third, collective bargaining in the public sector was criticized for skewing the normal political process in favor of one interest group to the disadvantage of others. Even today, some would argue that collec­ tive bargaining in education gives teachers too much power relative to parents and the community at large. Even the authority of local school districts to engage in collective bargaining was in doubt. No statutes expressly authorized school districts to engage in collective bar­ gaining, and the courts were split on the question of whether school districts could en­ gage in collective bargaining without express statutory authorization. When the authority to bargain was found, the courts concluded only that school boards were per­ mitted to engage in collective negotiations, not that they were required to.1 Public sector collective bargaining slowly gained recognition beginning in 1949 when Wisconsin enacted legislation permitting it. In 1962, President Kennedy issued an executive order giving federal employees some limited rights to bargain collec­ tively. Today, most states have statutes authorizing some form of collective negotia­ tions between teachers and school boards. In thirty-four states, actual collective bargaining is now required in districts where teachers have formed a union. Other states require only that the board meet and confer with the representative union. Col­ lective bargaining by teachers is prohibited by statute in North Carolina.2 There are important variations in the provisions of public sector collective-bargaining laws. For example, some states designate a wider range of topics as negotiable than others. Some states permit or require arbitration, whereas others prohibit arbitration. In short, some state legislatures have been more willing than others to encourage or force local school boards to share power with teacher unions. Nevertheless, many states' collective-bargaining laws have certain key features in common. At the heart of the standard public collective-bargaining law are provisions specifically giving public employees the right to join a union and prohibiting public employers such as school boards from transferring or disciplining employees for en­ gaging in union activities. These statutes also impose on the employer a duty to bargain with the union in good faith. This means, among other things, that the employer may not take unilateral action on certain categories of issues if the employee union wants to negotiate them. Not every employee, however, may join a collective-bargaining unit. State statutes often exclude supervisors, those in managerial positions, and even confidential em­ ployees who work for supervisors and managers.3 Depending on the authority dele­ gated to the faculty, school site management arrangements—such as those found in some charter schools—have the potential to turn a school's entire faculty into manag­ ers prohibited from joining a union.4 To get to the point of actually bargaining, several steps need to be taken. First, the bargaining unit must be defined. Different categories of employees have different in­ terests in common, so more than one union may be necessary in one school district. The standard state law provides for a formal process to officially designate and rec­ ognize the bargaining units. Although these laws vary regarding the criteria for de­ fining an appropriate bargaining unit, two criteria are generally used: Employees

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should be divided into as few separate bargaining units as possible and a bargaining unit should include only members who share a "community of interests." Too many different unions place an undue burden on the school district to engage in multiple collective-bargaining processes. But to combine employees with very different in­ terests risks persistent internal union strife and compromises the union's ability to represent all its members fairly. Many states' statutes establish a public employment relations board (PERB) with power to resolve disputes relating to union representation in education. Neverthe­ less, disputes over the makeup of education employee unions sometimes end up in court. A Michigan case decided that nonteaching coaches should not form a separate bargaining unit.5 A Wisconsin court concluded that student teachers should be placed in the same unit with full- and part-time professional employees.6 A federal court in In­ diana rejected the claim that a school district's noncertified employees had a constitu­ tional right to hold an election to see if they wanted to form a separate union from the district's teachers.7 Once the number and makeup of bargaining units have been decided, employees must be given an uncoerced opportunity to decide if they want to be collectively repre­ sented by a union, and, if so, which union. The school board may not unilaterally select the union.8 Rather, state statutes typically establish several methods for making these decisions. One method, certification by the PERB without an election, can be used when there is no serious dispute over unionization. However, if there is any question regarding whether the employees want a union or which union they prefer, the PERB will supervise an election. Although school officials may have a preference in these elections, state laws pro­ hibit board domination, interference, or assistance in the formation, administration, or affairs of the employee union. Also, once a union has been victorious in an election, most states' statutes create a moratorium period during which its status as the exclu­ sive representative of the unit may not be challenged or decertification sought. The purpose of this moratorium is to assure both employees and employer some period of labor peace and stability. A minority of states permit certain arrangements to help protect what is called "union security." For example, some states permit an agency-shop arrangement under which, as a condition of continued employment, teachers must either be dues-paying union members or pay a service charge to the union. A few states permit the union-shop arrangement, where teachers must actually be union members to retain employment. The closed-shop arrangement requires prospective employees to be union members at the time of application for employment. In contrast, about twenty states have enacted right-to-work laws prohibiting employers and unions from compelling employees to become union members or pay any fee. The relation between agency-shop arrange­ ments and right-to-work laws was addressed in North Kingstown v. North Kingstown Teachers Ass 'n.9 In exchange for the privilege of becoming the exclusive representatives of the employees in the bargaining unit, state law imposes on the union a duty of fair rep­ resentation. It must represent all the employees in the unit, members or not, and may not sacrifice the interests of those who have chosen not to join for the sake of its members.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS: AN OVERVIEW

235

When bargaining begins, both parties are obligated to bargain in good faith. This difficult-to-defme concept imposes on the parties a duty to bargain with a sincere de­ sire to reach an agreement but no obligation to make concessions. Legal mechanisms are established by statute for bringing and resolving charges that a party is not bargain­ ing in good faith. If the negotiators manage to come to an agreement, the contract must be ratified by a majority vote of both the school board and the teachers who will work under it. State law does not allow school boards to delegate to a negotiator the power to actually make a contract, so the board must act formally to ratify any agreement. Assuming ratifica­ tion, which usually occurs, each teacher may then choose to accept the agreement or not. The only option for a teacher unwilling to work under the agreement is to resign. No teacher may negotiate a separate agreement with the board, except for supplemen­ tal contracts as permitted by statute and the collective-bargaining agreement itself. No penalty may be imposed on a teacher who chooses to resign within a statutorily desig­ nated period after negotiation of the collective-bargaining agreement. In cases where negotiations do not produce a contract agreeable to both sides, states designate a variety of procedures designed to break the impasse. Again, depending on the specific provisions of state law, dispute-resolution schemes may include media­ tion, fact-finding, or arbitration (also called "interest arbitration"). All these involve the naming, either by a state official or jointly by the parties themselves, of an individ­ ual or board to help create a contract. A mediator's powers are limited to bringing the two sides together for continued talk and using human-relations skills to facilitate or coax agreement. A fact finder may hold hearings where both sides are required to submit whatever in­ formation they possess regarding their contract proposals. The fact finder then issues a report containing recommendations of what the final contract should be. Although it is hoped that the view of a neutral labor relations expert, which in most cases is made public, will exert pressure on both sides to accept the proposed settlement, fact finder' s reports may be and often are rejected by one or both sides. An arbitrator has all the power of both mediator and fact finder, with the very impor­ tant difference that the arbitrator's findings are binding on both sides. In other words, the arbitrator has the power to dictate a contract that may not be rejected by either the union or board. In some schemes, arbitrators are limited to accepting the position of ei­ ther one side or the other; other arbitration schemes allow the arbitrator to fashion a compromise. The legality of arbitration has been upheld against claims that it involves an unlawful delegation of power to private individuals and that it denies due process or equal protection to public employees.10 Arbitration is also controversial from a policy standpoint because it takes from the school board and ultimately from the people the board represents the final decision about how much they are willing to pay the teachers they employ. For this reason, arbi­ tration has been adopted by only a few states. Arbitration may not be employed as part of the negotiation process in states where it has not been specifically authorized by statute. Many states' statutes permit school boards to issue unilateral contracts if they are unable to come to terms with their teachers. In these states, after all other procedures have failed, the board will issue a contract that the union has no opportunity to ratify or

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reject as a group. Individual teachers still have the choice of working under the con­ tract as offered, resigning, or, in some states, continuing to work under the previous year's contract. State laws also contain provisions regarding the obligations of the parties when bar­ gaining or impasse resolution continues beyond the termination date of the previous contract. Some courts have ordered employers to meet their obligations under the old contract, such as providing salary step increases, in order to maintain the status quo pending a new agreement.11 In sum, state laws establish a set of rights and duties regarding union representation of school employees and collective bargaining. Violation of these laws is an unfair or improper labor practice that may result in an injunction, firing, or other penalty against the offending side. Unfair labor practices include: dismissal, transfer, or discharge of employees for engaging in union activities; denial by the employer of the use of facili­ ties for proper union activities; attempts by the union or employer to coerce an em­ ployee to vote a certain way in a certification election; antiunion intimidation and harassment; unilateral changes by the employer in terms and conditions of employ­ ment; refusal to bargain or failure to bargain in good faith; union violation of the duty of fair representation; refusal to execute or implement a written agreement embodying the results of the bargaining process; refusal to enter into a legally mandated dispute resolution procedure; and engaging in an unlawful strike.

9.2

RIGHTS OF UNION MEMBERS

In the absence of state statutory authorization, do public employees have a constitu­ tional right to join a union? In 1968, in McLaughlin v. Tilendis,12 the Seventh Circuit ruled that the First Amendment prohibits any state or school district to forbid its teach­ ers from joining a union or to dismiss those who do. The court explained its decision as follows: It is settled that teachers have the right of free association, and unjustified interference with teachers' associational freedom violates [their constitutional rights]. Public em­ ployment may not be subjected to unreasonable conditions, and the assertion of First Amendment rights by teachers will usually not warrant their dismissal. Unless there is some illegal intent, an individual's right to form and join a union is protected by the First Amendment.

The court rejected the argument that because some of the activities that unions often advocate and engage in, such as collective bargaining and teacher strikes, were (at that time and in that state) illegal, it was permissible for the state to prohibit union member­ ship and even advocacy of union membership as well. The court relied on the important distinction between membership in an organization and participation in the illegal ac­ tivities that the organization may advocate or even sponsor: It is possible of course that at some future time plaintiffs may engage in union-related conduct justifying their dismissal. But the Supreme Court has stated that, "Those who join an organization but do not share its unlawful purposes and who do not participate in

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its unlawful activities surely pose no threat, either as citizens or as public employees." Even if this record disclosed that the union was connected with unlawful activity, the bare fact of membership does not justify charging members with their organization's misdeeds. A contrary rule would bite more deeply into associational freedom than is necessary to achieve state interests, thereby violating the First Amendment.

In previous discussions of the rights of students and teachers, it was noted that free­ dom of association and assembly are corollaries of free speech. By joining with others of like mind, people seek to amplify their voices and to increase their influence. The McLaughlin decision recognizes that insofar as they are expressive acts, forming and joining a union are constitutionally protected. Would not the same reasoning then apply to collective bargaining? After all, collective bargaining is a way for a group of people (employees) to speak as one. The courts that have considered the issue say that it does not: Collective bargaining is more than a form of expression for union members because it also compels the gov­ ernment (employer) to participate in the process. Unions and their members are free to exercise their constitutional rights to try to influence their employer, but there is no free speech or other constitutional provision that requires a government employer to engage in collective bargaining (or any other communication) with a union of its em­ ployees. Nor is there any federal statute giving public sector employees the right to bargain collectively. Thus, states may prohibit collective bargaining by public school teachers, and in states where public sector collective bargaining is not required by stat­ ute, school boards are free to refuse to negotiate with unions.13 Even in states where statutes do give teachers the right to bargain collectively, there is no constitutional right for individuals to select the union that will represent them.14 Freedom of speech does protect the right of teachers to promote unionization during nonclass time. As long as the effort to persuade other faculty members does not materi­ ally and substantially disrupt the school, one court said, school officials may not re­ strict it.15 Another court said that teachers could not be precluded from using the school mail system and bulletin boards for the same purposes, but upheld school rules limiting the access to school grounds by union organizers who were not school employees to before and after school. The court reasoned that school grounds were not a public forum, so school authorities could impose reasonable regulations on the use of the school's property (see sec. 3.5).16 The First Amendment also protects the right of employees publicly to criticize school officials regarding union issues that are a matter of public concern.17 Picketing also enjoys an important degree of free speech protection,18 but courts are likely to allow prohibition of picketing when done with force, violence, or intimidation or for il­ legal purposes such as to promote an illegal strike.19 Teacher Strikes Public employees do not have a constitutional right to strike. Courts have denied claims that laws prohibiting teacher strikes are a form of involuntary servitude, violate the right of freedom of speech or assembly, or deny due process.20 In rejecting the argu­ ment that prohibiting public school teacher strikes where private sector strikes are per­

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mitted violates equal protection, one court cited the crucial function that education plays in promoting the welfare of the state: The state has a compelling interest that one of its most precious assets—its youth—have the opportunity to drink at the font of knowledge so that they may be nurtured and develop into the responsible citizens of tomorrow. No one has the right to turn off the fountain's spigot and keep it in a closed position. Likewise, the equal protection afforded by the fourteenth amendment does not guarantee perfect equality. There is a difference between a private employee and a public employee, such as a teacher who plays such an important part in enabling the state to discharge its constitutional responsibility. The need of pre­ venting governmental paralysis justifies the "no strike" distinction we have drawn be­ tween the public employee and his counterpart who works for the private sector within our labor force.21

State statutes vary with regard to the definition of a strike. Kansas defines a strike as any "action taken for the purpose of coercing a change in the terms and conditions of professional service or the rights, privileges or obligations thereof, through any failure by concerted action with others to report to duty including, but not limited to, any work stoppage, slowdown, or refusal to work."22 Where such broad and vague definitions apply, courts may consider organized refusals to perform extracurricular duties or work-to-rule actions as strikes.23 About half the states do not permit any organized work stoppages by teachers. In these states, a variety of penalties is possible against the union and individual teachers who defy the law. These penalties include loss of pay, fines, and even dismissal of striking employees; fines and jail terms for union leaders who defy a court order to re­ turn to work; and union reimbursement of the board for substitute teachers, legal fees, and other expenses incurred in dealing with a strikes.24 In states where statutes or common law give teachers the right to strike, the board may not retaliate against strikers, provided the strike is conducted according to law. Only about ten states grant teachers a full right to strike equal to that of private sector employees. In the remaining states that allow strikes, the board may still seek a court injunction ordering striking teachers back to work if the board can show that the strike creates a significant threat to public safety or is otherwise seriously detrimental to the public welfare.25 Statutes vary regarding the procedures to be followed in obtaining an injunction to end a strike, the penalties faced by striking employees, the extent to which these penal­ ties are mandatory or subject to procedural rights or to modification by mitigating cir­ cumstances, the procedural rights of teachers before they may be dismissed or otherwise punished for illegal strike activity, the penalties that may or must be im­ posed upon the union itself such as fines or loss of the dues deductions or other privi­ leges, and the authority of the courts to issue antistrike injunctions and to impose penalties for disobeying the court's order. A majority of state courts have held that a hearing prior to the dismissal of illegally striking teachers is not constitutionally required. These courts generally view illegally striking teachers as having abandoned their contracts, thus giving up any property rights to their jobs and any claims to procedural due process. A prompt hearing follow­ ing dismissal to consider a case in which a teacher claims not to have been on strike is required.26

RIGHTS OF NONUNION MEMBERS

9.3

239

RIGHTS OF NONUNION MEMBERS

Is it permissible to deny participation in the collective-bargaining process to teachers who decline to join the union? May nonunion teachers be forced to pay union dues or fees? May schools adopt rules that make it easier for the officially designated union than for rival unions or individuals to communicate with teachers? The central issue in these questions is how to protect the rights of nonunion members without violating the rights of union members or damaging the effectiveness of the collective-bargaining process. Two Supreme Court cases have considered the issue of whether and under what cir­ cumstances a school board may give a teacher union and its members more opportunity to speak to the board than is granted to nonunion members. In Madison Joint School District v. Wisconsin Employment Commission,27 a school board was accused of an un­ fair labor practice for allowing a nonunion teacher to speak at a public meeting in which the board was considering its position regarding an issue being negotiated with the union. The president of the union was also permitted to speak and to present a peti­ tion signed by union members. The Supreme Court ruled that it would have been im­ permissible to deny the nonunion teacher the right to speak: Regardless of the extent to which true contract negotiations between a public body and its employees may be regulated—an issue we need not consider at this time—the participa­ tion in public discussion of public business cannot be confined to one category of inter­ ested individuals. To permit one side of a debatable public question to have a monopoly in expressing its views to the government is the antithesis of constitutional guarantees. Whatever its duties as an employer, when the board sits in public meetings to conduct public business and hear the views of citizens, it may not be required to discriminate be­ tween speakers on the basis of their employment, or the content of their speech.

Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight18 concerned a Minnesota statute requiring public employers to engage in "meet-and-confer" sessions with their professional employees to exchange views on policy issues outside the scope of collec­ tive bargaining. The statute further specified that if an agency's professional employ­ ees were unionized, only representatives of the union could participate in the meet-and-confer sessions with the agency administration. Nonunion teachers argued that permitting unionized teachers to express their views to supervisors while denying nonunion members the right to express theirs in the same forum was a violation of their right of free speech. In considering this claim, the Supreme Court was careful to distinguish the Knight case from Madison. Whereas the school board meeting in Madison was a traditional forum for the expression of public views, the meet-and-confer sessions in Knight were not. "It is a fundamental principle of First Amendment doctrine that for government property to be a public forum, it must by long tradition or by government designation be open to the public at large for assembly and speech." No one, explained the Court, has a constitutional right to speak in a nonpublic forum, even people directly affected by the issues under consideration. To hold otherwise would require revision of the pro­ cedures of every government body from Congress to school boards. Minnesota's law did not restrict employees from speaking or from joining with others of like mind. It

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simply restricted access to the formal meet-and-confer sessions to the duly elected rep­ resentatives of the majority of an agency's professional employees. This, concluded the Court, was neither unconstitutional or unreasonable. Mandatory Union Fees

The issue under consideration by the school board in the Madison case was whether to force nonunion members to pay a service or "agency-shop" fee to the union. Some states do not permit mandatory agency-shop fees, while others do. The Supreme Court has considered constitutional issues relating to agency-shop fees in four cases. In the first case, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education,29 the Court agreed with teachers who objected to paying fees that were used by a union for political and "ideological activi­ ties." The Court reasoned that compelling teachers to support the promotion of views with which they did not agree was a violation of their rights of freedom of association and speech. However, the Court did not prohibit all agency-shop arrangements. In­ stead, it ruled that it was permissible for nonunion teachers to be charged a fee to com­ pensate the union for its collective-bargaining activities. The Court reasoned that nonunion members reap the same benefits from these services as members, that the state had a legitimate interest in preventing "free riders," and that any infringement on First Amendment rights related to the collective-bargaining fee was justified by the contribution of the single bargaining unit system to "labor peace." Thus, it is permissi­ ble, in states with agency-shop laws, for nonunion teachers to be required by their con­ tracts to pay the percentage of union dues used to support collective bargaining. In Ellis v. Railway Clerks30 the Court invalidated, as a violation of a federal statute, a rebate scheme that "allowed the union to collect the full amount of a protesting employee's dues, use part of the dues for objectionable purposes, and only pay the rebate a year later." The Court said that given the availability of alternative arrangements, such as the reduction of dues in advance or the use of interest-bearing escrow accounts, "the union cannot be allowed to commit dissenter's funds to improper uses even tempo­ rarily." The Ellis Court also held that the union could not charge dissenting employees for the costs of general organizing efforts and for costs of litigation not involving the negotiation of agreements or the settlement of grievances. However, the union could charge these employees their share for the union's quadrennial convention, union pub­ lications, and social activities. The Court drew a distinction among these charges using the following test: "whether the challenged expenditures are necessarily or reasonably incurred for the purpose of performing the duties of an exclusive representative of the employees in dealing with the employer on labor-management issues." In Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson,31 the Court unanimously ruled against another union dues rebate procedure. The procedure was unconstitutional for three reasons: First, it permitted the temporary use of nonmember contributions for ideological purposes. Second, it did not provide dissenting employees enough infor­ mation to gauge the propriety of the union's calculation of the mandatory service fee. Third, it did not provide for a reasonably prompt decision by an impartial decision maker for employees who disputed the amount of the service charge. The Court also re­ quired that an escrow account be set up for the amount of the charge reasonably in dis­ pute pending resolution.

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Most recently, in Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass 'n,32 the Court announced three guidelines for deciding what charges to nonunion members were permissible. To be in­ cluded in an agency fee, an activity must be "germane" to collective bargaining, be jus­ tified by the need for labor peace or to avoid "free riders," and not significantly add to the burden on free speech already imposed by the agency-shop agreement. Applying these guidelines, the Court concluded that employees could be charged a pro rata share of the local union's payments to the state and national affiliate of the local union in­ cluding support of the parent union's general collective-bargaining activities; a union publication concerning professional development, unemployment, job opportunities, award programs, and education generally; sending delegates to the state and national conventions of the parent union; and expenses incurred preparing for a strike that would have been illegal under state law. The agency-shop arrangement may be coupled with an administrative device called "dues check-off." Under this arrangement the union and employer agree that union dues and nonmember service fees will be deducted by the employer from the employee's paycheck and forwarded to the union. This arrangement saves the union the time and expense of collecting dues and helps prevent employees from engaging in dues avoidance. State laws vary with regard to dues check-offs, with some states mak­ ing it a mandatory subject of bargaining, some making it a permissive subject of nego­ tiations, and others actually prohibiting the arrangement. The states are split on whether dues check-off can be granted exclusively to the incumbent union. Relying on the principles established in the Supreme Court decisions discussed ear­ lier, the Ninth Circuit upheld a dues-deduction system under which the fee paid by nonunion members was placed in an independently managed interest-bearing escrow account. No later than October 15th, nonmembers had to be informed how they could obtain a rebate of the portion of the fee that was not mandatory. Nonmembers who wanted rebates had to submit letters by November 15th. They could either accept the union's calculation of the amount of the rebate and receive it promptly or request an in­ dependent calculation by an arbitrator, in which case the rebate would be paid by mid-February. The court found this scheme to be a reasonable way of preserving the constitutional rights of nonmembers without imposing an undue administrative bur­ den on the union.33 In addition to agency-shops and dues deduction, incumbent unions have sought other protections against the activities of rival unions. Some states permit the incum­ bent union to be given exclusive access to school facilities. The constitutionality of a union's exclusive access to teacher mailboxes and internal mail delivery system was addressed by the Supreme Court in Perry Education Ass 'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass 'n.34 The Court began its analysis by noting that the school's internal mail system was not a public forum. Rather, it was created and employed for specific purposes re­ lating to the conduct of the school's business. "Implicit in the concept of the nonpublic forum," said the Court, is the right to make distinctions in access on the basis of subject matter and speaker iden­ tity. These distinctions may be impermissible in a public forum but are inherent and ines­ capable in the process of limiting a nonpublic forum to activities compatible with the intended purpose of the property. The touchstone for evaluating these distinctions is whether they are reasonable in light of the purpose for which the forum at issue serves.

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Furthermore, said the Court, the differential access in this case was reasonable: The differential access provided PEA [the official union] and PLEA [the rival union] is reasonable because it is wholly consistent with the District's legitimate interest in pre­ serving the property ... for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated. Use of school mail facilities enables PEA to perform effectively its obligations as exclusive representative of all Perry Township teachers. Conversely, PLEA does not have any official responsi­ bility in connection with the School District.... Moreover, exclusion of the rival union may reasonably be considered a means of insuring labor peace within the schools. The policy serves to prevent the District's schools from becoming a battlefield for inter-union squabbles.

Finally, the Court noted that the school had made no attempt to prevent the rival union from communicating with teachers by other means, either in or out of school. Thus, the official union's exclusive access to the internal mail system was upheld. 9.4

RIGHTS AND DUTIES IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The question of the scope of bargaining—which subjects must be negotiated—has implications for the balance of power between teachers and school board. In most states, possible subjects of negotiation are divided into three categories: First, manda­ tory subjects must be bargained over if either party wishes. A refusal to negotiate over a mandatory subject of bargaining is a violation of the duty to negotiate in good faith and an improper or unfair labor practice. Second, permissive subjects may be bargained over if both parties agree. Sometimes, a state statute specifies a policy that must be used; for example, to carry out a reduction in force (RIF), unless the union and school board agree to negotiate a different policy.35 Refusal to bargain over a permissive sub­ ject is not a violation of the duty to negotiate in good faith. Third, illegal subjects may not be bargained over; the board must decide these issues unilaterally. State laws regarding which issues are mandatory, permissive, and illegal subjects of negotiation vary significantly, so the law of each state should be consulted. In general, issues relating to the terms and conditions of teachers' employment are mandatory subjects of negotiation. These include hours of employment, length of the work year, workload, extra duties, salary, sick leave and other fringe benefits, grievance proce­ dures, and issues of teacher safety.36 Issues of educational policy and school management such as who shall be hired and fired (sometimes referred to as "managerial prerogatives") are generally illegal sub­ jects of negotiation.37 Other subjects ruled nonnegotiable by some courts include pro­ motions, curriculum, length of school year, transfer and assignment, staff size, and academic freedom.38 Also nonnegotiable are issues controlled by constitutional or statutory law such as which categories of employees are eligible for tenure.39 A Wis­ consin court ruled that a race-conscious lay-off provision was unconstitutional and thus, an illegal subject of negotiation.40 The line between mandatory, permissive, and illegal subjects of negotiation is often not clearly drawn. For example, in some states, class size is a mandatory sub­ ject of negotiations, but in most it is permissive. Even in states where class size is not mandatory, the impact of class size on teacher workload may be.41 Curriculum is at

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most a permissive subject of negotiations, but the workload effects of the curriculum adopted by the board are a mandatory subject. In most states, the criteria for the eval­ uation of teachers are nonnegotiable, but the procedures for evaluation are manda­ tory. An Iowa court ruled that not only the procedures of evaluation, but also the substantive criteria of evaluation are mandatory subjects of negotiation.42 Con­ versely, a Connecticut court ruled that even the procedures of evaluation are not a mandatory subject of negotiation.43 Most states take the position that an initial decision to carry out a RIF is a nonnego­ tiable management prerogative, but that RIF procedures and the impact of a RIF on staff are mandatory. An Illinois court, however, ruled that even the initial decision to lay off teachers was a mandatory subject of negotiation.44 Conversely, a New Jersey court ruled that both the initial RIF decision and the impact of the decision were illegal subjects of negotiation.45 Another New Jersey court ruled that the decision whether to hold school on recess days to make up for snow days was not a mandatory subject, but the impact of the decision was negotiable unless negotiations would significantly in­ terfere with managerial prerogatives. The court said that only if the impact of the deci­ sion could be severed from the basic decision were negotiations over the impact mandatory.46 Some states' statutes seek to avoid confusion by specifying a list of subjects in each category. Whatever the level of specificity of the statutes, disputes over the negoti­ ability of specific subjects may arise because many educational issues involve both teacher working conditions and questions of policy and school management.47 A fur­ ther complication is that the statutory language defining the scope of bargaining must be reconciled with other state statutes such as those addressing the promotion and eval­ uation of teachers.48 State statutes impose a duty of fair representation on the union. One of the require­ ments of this duty is that the union not enter into a contract that discriminates against any of its members. A New York court explained the union's obligation as follows: The bargaining agent has the duty to serve the interests of all members of a unit without hostility or discrimination toward any, to exercise its discretion with complete good faith and honesty, and to avoid arbitrary conduct.... The deliberate sacrifice of a partic­ ular employee as consideration for other objectives must be a concession the union can­ not make. 49

Thus, in another New York case, a court concluded that a union had breached its duty of fair representation when it failed to bargain vigorously on behalf of female coaches. In settling for an unfair salary for these union members because the burden of represent­ ing them became onerous, the union discriminated as surely as if it had proposed the in­ adequate salary.50 The duty to bargain in good faith is imposed by law on both the school and the teachers' union, but good faith is hard to define. Good-faith negotiating means making a sincere attempt to come to an agreement. It requires cooperating in the bargaining process by scheduling and attending mutually convenient meetings, listening to and considering proposals made by the other side, and trying to resolve differences in a way both sides can accept. Good faith does not, however, require compromise or even revising one's original position, although as a matter of tactics and for the sake of pub­

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lic relations, both sides virtually always move from their original positions. Goodfaith bargaining also requires sticking to one's word by not later vetoing a contract pre­ viously offered to the other side. Behaviors that can lead to a finding of a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith include: repeated postponement of meetings, taking unilateral action regarding a mandatory or agreed upon subject of negotiation, refusal to schedule regular meetings, repeated backing away from agreements reached on spe­ cific items earlier in the negotiations process, unwillingness to supply arguments and information to support proposals, and employing a negotiator who lacks the authority actually to engage in bargaining. In Montgomery County Council of Supporting Services Employees, Inc. v. Board of Education,51 the court discussed the difficulty of determining whether one party is simply a hard bargainer or comes to the table with no subjective intent to reach an agreement: The requirement of good faith is a subjective measure which can be applied only in light of the totality of the circumstances. It is not required that the parties reach agreement; nor is it even necessary that concessions be made.... Somewhat paradoxically, perhaps, the cases suggest that a "desire to reach agreement" constitutes good faith bargaining, and conversely that a "desire not to reach an agreement" is bad faith; condemned is a "prede­ termined resolve not to budge from an initial position," and required is "a serious attempt to resolve differences and reach a common ground." ... The difficulty ... is trying to legislate a state of mind. The task in applying the good faith standard is to distinguish, upon the facts of each case, between a party genuinely partici­ pating in negotiations, listening to and evaluating proposals made by the other side and attempting to explain its own position, with willingness to persuade and be persuaded, and a party merely "going through the motions" with a "predetermined resolve not to budge from an initial position."

9.5

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

State statutes may specify administrative procedures for dealing with alleged viola­ tions of a collective-bargaining agreement. Collective-bargaining contracts them­ selves may also establish grievance procedures for resolving claims of contractual violations. In about twenty states, the law permits submitting teacher contract disputes to grievance arbitration, in which a neutral third party is empowered to make a deci­ sion that both sides must accept. Courts have affirmed the legality of grievance arbitra­ tion at least with regard to subjects within the scope of bargaining.52 Usually the law requires exhausting all available grievance procedures before sub­ mitting a dispute to a court; however, there may be times when state law and the collective-bargaining agreement give teachers two separate options for contesting what they believe to be a contractually impermissible action by their employer. For example, a dismissed teacher might seek review of the decision through the grievance mechanism of the contract or through the procedures spelled out in state law. Courts are in agree­ ment that where these options exist, teachers may choose either of them.53 Election of one procedure sometimes, but not always, has been held to bar the use of the other.54 New York permits a teacher to pursue the grievance procedure and statutory procedure simultaneously even if this creates the possibility of inconsistent results.55 Once a par­

INDIVIDUAL TEACHER CONTRACTS

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ticular procedure has been pursued to its final step and a final decision rendered, the other procedure can no longer be used.56 Collective-bargaining contracts often give the union the exclusive power to decide whether a grievance will be filed. A teacher whose union refuses to prosecute a griev­ ance could not use this avenue of redress. In exercising the power to decide whether to prosecute a grievance, private sector unions are under a federal statutory obligation to act fairly.57 State courts have found a similar duty under state public sector bargaining laws as part of the union's duty of fair representation.58 On the same basis, when two members of the same union are in conflict regarding which one will be retained and which one let go, the union may not hire an attorney to defend only one of them.59 An issue that frequently arises in conjunction with the use of grievance procedures is whether the board has the authority to submit a particular issue to arbitration. For ex­ ample, is it permissible for the board to agree to submit a teacher dismissal to arbitra­ tion or must the board reserve the ultimate decision to itself? The answers to questions like this vary from state to state depending on statute.60 Assuming the board has the authority to submit a particular issue to arbitration, a school board and teacher can still disagree on whether the contract requires submitting the issue to arbitration. In other words, disputes can arise concerning the scope of the negotiated arbitration agreement itself. State courts have taken divergent approaches to resolving these issues.61 State courts are also divided over the related issue of whether the arbitrator or the courts decide whether an issue may be decided by arbitration. New York courts assert that they have the primary authority to interpret a contract's arbitration clause and that "it must be taken, in the absence of clear, unequivocal agreement to the contrary, that the board of education did not intend to refer differences which might arise to the arbi­ tration forum."62 Minnesota courts take a position somewhat more favorable to arbitra­ tion. In that state, if the arbitrability of a dispute is subject to "reasonable debate," the arbitrator must first make the determination of arbitrability. After arbitration, this de­ cision may be appealed to the courts, which will consider the question of arbitrability independently.63 Wisconsin's approach is the most favorable toward arbitration. The arbitrator must first decide arbitrability. On appeal, the court must defer to the arbitrator's decision "as long as it is within the bounds of the contract language, regardless of whether we might have reached a different result under that language, [provided the decision] does not violate the law."64 Once a grievance has been settled by arbitration, most courts take the decision of the arbitrator as valid and binding and will not review or overturn the decision unless it is totally unreasonable65 or violates state or federal law or policy such as by contradicting a legitimate school board decision concerning a nonnegotiable issue.66 The remedy granted by the arbitrator to the winning party such as reinstatement or damages must conform to the contract and not violate state law.67 9.6

INDIVIDUAL TEACHER CONTRACTS

As seen in Chapters 7 and 8, many aspects of the relationship between teachers and their employers are controlled by federal and state constitutional and statutory law. School boards and teachers—either collectively or individually—may not enter into

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contracts that contradict state law; for example, by allowing teachers to make person­ nel decisions that the law reserves to school boards.68 State law may even permit school boards to make decisions that have the effect of modifying the contract between the board and its teachers; for example, by revising the school calendar to make up for days missed because of weather. Teachers may be required to follow the modified calendar, even to attend school on days specifically designated by the contract as vacations. As discussed earlier in this chapter, in school districts with collective bargaining, many of the terms of employment of all of a school district's teachers are set by an agreement between a teacher union and school board. The collective-bargaining agreement is a mandatory part of the contract of each individual teacher within a school district, so school boards and teachers may not enter into contracts that contra­ dict the collective-bargaining agreement even if both wish to do so. For example, where the collective-bargaining agreement specifies a single salary schedule for all teachers, the school board may not agree to a higher than scheduled salary for a teacher it considers particularly valuable. However, the collective-bargaining agreement is not by itself specific enough to constitute an enforceable contract between the school board and any individual teacher. Teachers must still have individual contracts spelling out, among other things, the specific positions they are to hold, the hours they are to work, and the salary and benefits they are to receive. Teachers may also have separate or supplementary con­ tracts regarding coaching or other extra-duty assignments. The collective-bargaining agreement may be viewed as setting the framework of the agreement between a teacher and school board with the individual contract filling in the details. In school districts without collective bargaining, each teacher is theoretically free to negotiate the entire contract from scratch. In practice, however, the board generally in­ sists on fairly similar general terms for all of its teachers with only variations similar to those in collective-bargaining districts. Whether an individual teacher's contract emanates from a collective-bargaining agreement or not, an extensive and complex set of statutory and common laws regu­ lates its formation and implementation. Employment contracts in education are usu­ ally bilateral, meaning that each party makes promises in advance to the other, and are express rather than implied, meaning that the promises are made in words rather than inferred from actions. Where permitted by law, teaching contracts or, more frequently, supplemental duty contracts, may be oral. Oral contracts are difficult to enforce be­ cause it is hard to prove what was said. Even where there is no written contract, an em­ ployee is entitled to reasonable compensation for services performed at the request of and for the benefit of an employer. The five essential elements of a binding employment contract in education are: (a) man­ ifestation of mutual assent, (b) consideration, (c) competence of the parties, (d) legality of subject, and (e) satisfaction of statutory requirements for formation of a contract. Manifestation of mutual assent is accomplished by the making of an offer and its acceptance. An offer is a specific proposal with definite terms communicated by one person to another that creates in the mind of a reasonable person the perception of an invitation to assent. An offer and acceptance lacking definite terms do not create an en­ forceable contract. Courts will not supply missing terms or provide definitions for vague terms like "good wages."69

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A properly formulated and communicated offer confers on the person to whom the offer is made (offeree) a power of acceptance until the offer terminates. An offer can terminate by lapse of time, revocation, rejection, counteroffer, death or insanity of ei­ ther party, destruction of the specific subject matter to which the offer relates, or subse­ quent illegality of the type of contract contemplated by the offer. Offers may contain specific dates by which the acceptance must be made. If there is no such express time limit, the offer is said to be open for a reasonable time or until revoked or otherwise ter­ minated. Offers, rejections, and counteroffers are effective when received. An acceptance of an offer is some overt act by the offeree, usually written or oral, that manifests an intent to assent to the terms of the offer. The acceptance must be positive and may not change any of the terms of the offer, so counteroffers operate as a rejection of the original offer. In one case, a teacher who deleted from her contract the condition that she update her certificate was held not to have executed a contract.70 In another case, a principal who added to the contract the stipulation that he be given rent-free housing was held to have made a counteroffer that did not create a contract. 71 A late or defective acceptance does not create a contract; however, a late or defec­ tive acceptance does operate as a new offer that the original offerer may accept. Accep­ tances are generally effective when dispatched not just when received, unless the offer specifically provides otherwise or the offeree uses an unauthorized means of commu­ nication. An authorized means of communication is one that has been expressly autho­ rized by the offerer or, if none is authorized, the means used by the offerer. Thus, if the offer came by mail, the offeree should use the mails, and the acceptance is effective the moment the offeree mails the properly stamped and addressed acceptance. Mistakes arising from a failure to read a document are not a basis for avoiding con­ tractual liability. With very few exceptions, parties are held to what they sign; how­ ever, no binding contract is formed if one party makes an offer containing a serious mistake (e.g., a misplaced decimal point in a proposed salary) and the other accepts knowing of the error or with good reason to suspect it. Consideration is whatever is given in exchange for something else provided. Two requirements must be met: The parties must intentionally enter into a bargained ex­ change and the promises or performance of both parties must meet certain tests of legal sufficiency. The concept of a bargained exchange means that the parties negotiated and mutually agreed on what is to be exchanged. The tests of legal sufficiency are technical. What one party, either offerer or offeree, gives to the other must either be a legal detriment to that party or provide a legal benefit to the other party. Legal detriment means doing or promising to do something that the person making the promise was under no legal obligation to do or refraining or promis­ ing to refrain from doing something that could have been legally done. Legal benefit is obtaining from the other party something that one had no prior legal right to obtain. These technical requirements are easily satisfied in employment contracts: The school board promises salaries and benefits, something it was not previously obligated to offer, and gets in return a promise of services, something the teacher was not previ­ ously obligated to provide. When the board gives remuneration, it suffers a legal detri­ ment and the teacher gets a legal benefit. Likewise, the teacher providing services suffers a legal detriment and the board gets a legal benefit.

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Both parties to the contract must be of legal age and mentally competent to under­ take the terms of the contract. This is not usually an issue in education employment contracts. No employment contract may commit the board to undertake an act that is illegal or contrary to public policy. For example, the board and Mr. Jones could not strike a deal under which Jones stays on as principal of the high school in exchange for the board contracting with Jones's son for a school renovation. Education employment contracts must also satisfy a variety of state statutory re­ quirements. Most states' laws specify that only the board, acting as a corporate body at a properly convened meeting, can contractually bind the district. The board may not delegate its power to make contracts to its administrators or other employees, and con­ tracts not formally approved by the board may not be enforced.72 Nor are contracts en­ forceable if they exceed the board's statutory authority. Most states also require that school district employment contracts be in writing. In some states, the failure to issue a notice of nonrenewal automatically constitutes an offer of employment for the subse­ quent year.73 Occasionally, the issue arises whether a contract has been formed even though some aspect of the statutory requirements has not been satisfied. Courts insist that major re­ quirements such as school board approval be satisfied, but contracts are sometimes up­ held even if minor technical requirements are not met.74 In any event, improperly processed contracts can be ratified by the board after the fact, thereby rectifying the earlier error. Termination of Contract

The duties and obligations of a contract may be discharged, thus terminating the agreement in several ways. Exact performance of the contractual duties discharges both parties from further obligation. A breach of the contract by one party that is mate­ rial and goes to the essence of the contract discharges the other party's duties. A breach that is not material still gives rise to a cause of action for breach of contract (discussed later) and provides an excuse for nonperformance by the aggrieved party. A nonmate­ rial breach does not, however, discharge the aggrieved parties from further duties under the contract. Interference by one party that prevents performance by the other constitutes a material breach that discharges the contract. Repudiation in advance by one party of the contract is treated as a breach, and the nonrepudiating party may bring suit as if it were a breach. Mutual agreement by the parties rescinds the contract. An agreement to substitute a new performance for the duty originally owed under the contract terminates the original agreement. Perfor­ mance is discharged when a subsequent change in the law makes the contract illegal. The death or debilitating illness of an employee under contract to perform personal ser­ vices discharges the contractual duties. In this situation, known as impossibility of performance, an employer's duties are also discharged, and the person may be let go. Impossibility also encompasses impracticality, meaning that the contract could be fulfilled only with extreme and unreasonable difficulty, expense, injury, or loss. Thus, in one case, a teacher could be dismissed when his deteriorating eyesight led him to

INDIVIDUAL TEACHER CONTRACTS

249

seek extended sick leave and his diminished ability to read made it increasingly hard to meet normal teaching duties.75 However, federal and state law prohibiting discrimina­ tion against people with disabilities should be taken into account before dismissals are undertaken in such situations (see sec. 7.6). Contracts may include conditions or contingencies. A contractual condition is any event the happening or nonhappening of which affects the duties in the contract. There may be conditions that must be satisfied before any duty to perform exists. For exam­ ple, approval of the contract by the school board is necessary to the creation of contrac­ tual duties. Other conditions terminate any duties to perform. For example, a teacher's job might be subject to the condition that the federal government renew the grant fund­ ing the position.76 Breach of Contract

When one party fails to live up to the terms of the contract, the disappointed party can sue for breach of contract. The law seeks to provide a remedy that places the injured party in the same position as if the contract had been fulfilled. Sometimes, this only re­ quires a court to issue an order prohibiting continued violation of a contractual term or requiring specific execution of a provision of the contract such as the procedures gov­ erning teacher dismissal. Most often, the remedy for breach of contract is the awarding of monetary damages to compensate the aggrieved party for what would have been gained had the breach not occurred and for expenses incurred because of the breach. Employees who fail to complete the term of their contracts might have to compensate their employers for expenses incurred in obtaining a replacement. Aggrieved employ­ ees may be awarded salary and any other expenses incurred as a result of an employer's breach, such as the cost of seeking and moving to a new job.77 In fairness to the defaulting party, the law says the injured party cannot recover damages that could have been avoided through the exercise of reasonable diligence and without incurring undue risk, expense, or humiliation. The injured party is ex­ pected to take reasonable steps to mitigate damages by, for example, seeking another job, but the injured party does not have to take a job inferior to the one lost. In one case, a principal dismissed in violation of his contract was not required to accept a job as a teacher that paid as much as the principalship.78 In some employment contracts, the parties agree that an employee who breaches the contract will pay a specified amount of money in lieu of damages assessed in the usual way. These liquidated damage clauses are enforceable when it is difficult for the con­ tracting parties to determine the exact monetary value of the contract breach, provided the amount is reasonable and not punitive.79 Contract Interpretation

Unless there is a statute to the contrary, the law permits teachers to work without a con­ tract, but when there is no contract the issue may arise regarding the salary owed to the teachers. When a statute is available to govern the noncontract situation, its terms con­ trol the level of payment owed, but when there is no statute, courts resolve such ques­

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tions in a manner designed "to assure a just and equitable result."80 In one case, the court ruled that teachers who did agree to a new contract would be paid retroactively under the new salary schedule, whereas teachers who did not agree were to be paid under the terms of the previous year's salary schedule, including the experience incre­ ment due to them under that schedule.81 Contracts are not formed by statements of intention to hire or to work in the absence of a definite agreement between the parties on terms of the employment.82 Even where there is a definite agreement, a contract may not be formed if one of the parties lacks the authority to enter into a contract. Thus, a teacher's acceptance of a public school principal's offer of employment would not create a contract because only school boards have the statutory authority to enter into contracts with teachers.83 Employment contracts may also fail to be formed when a teacher does not return an acceptance by the stated deadline84 or if the acceptance is not delivered by the required mode (e.g., if a school district's written offer required a written acceptance but the acceptance was oral85). In a Florida case, a teacher told her principal that she was inclined to apply for an ad­ ditional year of leave; however, before she filed any leave forms, but after the principal had hired a replacement, the teacher told the principal she had changed her mind. The court ruled that the teacher had not relinquished her position.86 In an Oklahoma case, a faculty member signed the annual letter setting the salary and wrote the words "under protest" on the letter. The court ruled that his signing was a valid acceptance and not a counteroffer that terminated the original offer. Therefore, an enforceable contract had been formed.87 Several cases have considered the issue of whether a teacher with coaching or other paid supplemental duties is working under one contract or two. These cases usually in­ volve teachers who wish to resign from coaching but continue to teach or school boards that wish to fire a coach with tenure as a teacher. Some state statutes require that sup­ plemental duty agreements be separate from the basic teacher contract even if they are written on a single document.88 However, where no such statute exists, the divisibility of a contract depends primarily on the intentions of the parties. One court ruled that a teacher who had a three-year contract to teach and coach had the right to continue to teach and to be paid the full agreed-upon salary for the entire period even if the school district no longer wished him to coach.89 Questions sometimes arise over whether a teacher' s contract may include more than what is written on the document both parties signed. Specifically, cases have ad­ dressed the question of whether school rules, a teachers' handbook, or a school publi­ cation is part of the contract. The courts have said that such materials may be part of the contract if their terms are sufficiently specific, the employee is aware of them, and the materials are part of the bargained exchange.90 Courts in several states, however, have ruled that if there is evidence that the employer reserved the right to unilaterally change the handbook, then it is not considered part of the contract.91 Also, if the hand­ book specifically contains a statement that it does not constitute a contract, then the courts will not enforce it.92 Courts are in general agreement that state law is part of the contract.93 The power of legislatures to change the terms of the contract by changing the law may be implied or an express provision of the contract. Some states permit school boards to unilaterally change employment contracts under exigent circumstances. In 1991, in response to a

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severe budget crisis, the City of Baltimore decided to pay its teachers approximately one percent less than the salary specified in their contracts. The teachers sued the city, claiming that the unilateral contract modification violated Article 1, Section 10 (the Contract Clause) of the Constitution. The Contract Clause prohibits states from pass­ ing any law "impairing the obligation of contracts." In rejecting the claim, the Fourth Circuit noted that the Contract Clause is not an absolute bar to modification of a state's own financial obligations. Unilateral contract modifications must be "reasonable and necessary to serve an important public purpose." The salary reduction was permissible because Baltimore had made concerted but unsuccessful efforts to find alternative so­ lutions, the reduction was no greater than necessary, and the plan was abandoned at the first opportunity.94 Sometimes, the parties to a contract have expressed themselves in both a specific document and other oral or written statements, known as parol evidence. When this happens, there are several possibilities: There are two separate contracts, the basic written document and the other statements comprise one contract, or the written docu­ ment constitutes the entire and only contract, unaffected by the other statements. The general rule is that when the basic written contract is an integrated agreement, the parol evidence will not be permitted to modify it in any way. A written contract is an inte­ grated agreement when the parties so intended. To manifest this intention, many con­ tracts contain a clause affirming that the contract constitutes the entire agreement between the parties.95 Even when the parties know what words constitute their contract, they may disagree on their meaning. Carefully worded contracts are less likely to engender these dis­ putes. When disagreements do arise, the courts may be asked to interpret the contract. Although there is no procedure that guarantees discovery of the true meaning of a con­ tract, certain rules of interpretation serve as guidelines. Contracts are interpreted in ac­ cordance with the purpose and intentions of the parties insofar as these are ascertainable. Ordinary words are given their usual meaning and technical words their technical meaning. Separately negotiated terms are given greater weight than stan­ dardized terms and specific terms greater weight than general terms. Interpretations that make the contract and all its provisions reasonable, lawful, meaningful, and con­ sistent are preferred. 9.7

SUMMARY

Within the boundaries of federal and state law, the terms and conditions of a teacher's employment are set down in a contract. In most school districts, the contract is devel­ oped through a process of collective negotiations between a union representing all the district's teachers and the school board. Teachers have a constitutional right to join a union, but collective bargaining is at the discretion of the legislature and courts of each state. Most states do allow some form of collective bargaining for teachers. The process for selecting the union, the terms of the relationship between the union and its members and between the union and the school board, and the duties and obliga­ tions of both sides in collective bargaining are established by state law. The union is re­ quired to fairly represent all teachers within the district, even those who choose not to join. Both sides are obliged to bargain in good faith, (i.e., with an intention of reaching

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a mutually satisfactory agreement) over issues specified or implied by state law as mandatory subjects of negotiation. Generally, these issues relate to teacher well-being and working conditions. Certain other issues may be bargained at the discretion of both sides. Collective-bargaining agreements often include an agreement to submit certain employment disputes to arbitration by a neutral third party. In addition to the collective-bargaining agreement, each teacher has an individual contract detailing the specific terms of employment. To be enforceable, a teacher's contract must meet certain conditions. The most important of these is that both parties must come to an understanding of the duties and obligations that each will assume. Even so, legal disputes sometimes arise concerning the meaning and interpretation of a contractual provision. The more clear and detailed the contractual language, the less likely that these disputes will arise. NOTES 1. Norwalk Teachers Ass'nv. Bd. of Educ. of Norwalk, 83 A.2d 482 (Conn. 1951); Virginia v. County Bd. of Arlington County, 232 S.E.2d 30 (Va. 1977). 2. N.C. GEN. STAT. §§ 95-98. 3. Mich. Educ. Ass'n v. Clare-Gladwin Intermediate Sch. Dist., 396 N.W.2d 538 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986); Mo. Nat'l Educ. Ass'n v. Mo. State Bd. of Mediation, 695 S.W.2d 894 (Mo. 1986) (en banc). 4. See N.L.R.B. v. Yeshiva Univ., 444 U.S. 672 (1980). 5. Mich. Coaches Ass'n v. Warren Consol. Sch., 326 N.W.2d 432 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982). 6. Arrowhead United Teachers Org. v. Wis. Employment Relations Comm., 342 N.W.2d 709 (Wis. 1984). 7. Ind. State Teachers Ass'n v. Bd. of Sch. Comm'rs, 918 F. Supp. 266 (S.D. Ind., 1996), aff'd, 101 F.3d 1179(7thCir. 1996). 8. Fayette County Educ. Ass'n v. Hardy, 626 S.W.2d 217 (Ky. Ct. App. 1980). 9. 297 A.2d 342 (R.I. 1972). 10. City of Biddeford v. Biddeford Teachers Ass'n, 304 A.2d 387 (Me. 1973). 11. Ind. Educ. Employment Relations Bd. v. Mill Creek Classroom Teachers Ass'n, 456 N.E.2d 709 (Ind. 1983). 12. 398 F.2d 287 (7th Cir. 1968); see also Am. Fed. of State, County & Mun. Employees v. Woodward, 406 F.2d l37 (8th Cir. 1969). 13. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Unit of the N.C. Ass'n of Educators v. Phillips, 381 F. Supp. 644 (M.D.N.C. 1974). 14. Ind. State Teachers Ass'n v. Bd. of Sch. Comm'rs, 918 F. Supp. 266 (D. Ind. 1996), aff'd, 101 F.3d 1179 (7th Cir. 1996). 15. Ga. Ass'n of Educators v. Gwinnett County Sch. Dist., 856 F.2d 142 (llth Cir. 1988). 16. Tex. State Teacher Ass'n v. Garland Indep. Sch. Dist., 777 F.2d 1046 (5th Cir. 1985). 17. Hickman v. Valley Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 619 F.2d 606 (6th Cir. 1980). 18. Pittsburg Unified Sch. Dist. v. Cal. Sch. Employees Ass'n, 213 Cal. Rptr. 34 (Cal. Ct. App. 1985). 19. Teamsters Local 695 v. Vogt, 354 U.S. 284 (1957); Bd. of Educ. of Martins Ferry City Sch. Dist. v. Ohio Educ. Ass'n, 235 N.E.2d 538 (Ohio Ct. Common Pleas 1967). 20. City of New York v. DeLury, 243 N.E.2d 128, remitter amended, 244N.E.2d 472 (N.Y. 1968); United Fed. of Postal Clerks v. Blount, 325 F. Supp. 879 (D.D.C.), aff'd, 404 U.S. 802 (1971). 21. Sch. Comm. of Westerly v. Westerly Teachers Ass'n, 299 A.2d 441 (R.I. 1973). 22. KAN. STAT. ANN.§ 72-5413. 23. Bd. of Educ. of Asbury Park v. Asbury Park Ass'n, 368 A.2d 396 (NJ. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 1976). 24. Passaic Township Bd. of Educ. v. Passaic Teachers Ass'n, 536 A.2d 1276 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1987); Nat'l Educ. Ass'n v. S. Bend Cmty. Sch. Corp., 655 N.E.2d 516 (Ind. App. 1995). 25. Jersey Shore Area Sch. Dist. v. Jersey Shore Educ. Ass'n, 548 A.2d 1202 (Pa. 1988). 26. Sanford v. Rockefeller, 324 N.E.2d 113 (N.Y. 1974), appeal dismissed, 421 U.S. 973 (1975); Farrelly v. Timberlane Reg'l Sch. Dist., 324 A.2d 723 (N.H. 1974).

NOTES 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

253

429 U.S. 167(1976). 465 U.S. 271 (1984). 431 U.S. 209(1977). 466 U.S. 435(1984). 475 U.S. 292(1986). 500 U.S. 507(1991). Grunwal v. San Bernardino City United Sch. Dist., 994 F.2d 1370 (9th Cir. 1993). 460 U.S. 37(1983). Bd. of Educ. of Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. No. 201-U v. Crete-Monee Educ. Ass'n, 497 N.E.2d 1348 (I11. 1986). 36. Lorain City Sch. Dist. v. State Employment Relations Bd., 533 N.E.2d 264 (Ohio 1988); In re Local 195 v. State, 443 A.2d 187 (N.J. 1982). 37. Bd. of Educ. of North Bergen v. North Bergen Fed. of Teachers, Local 1060, 357 A.2d 302 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1976). 38. Boston Teachers Union, Local 66 v. Sch. Comm. of Boston, 434 N.E.2d 1258 (Mass. 1982); Unified Sch. Dist. No. 501 v. Kan. Dep't of Human Resources, 685 P.2d 874 (Kan. 1984). 39. Spiewak v. Bd. of Educ. of Rutherford, 447 A.2d 140 (N.J. 1982). 40. Milwaukee Bd. of Sch. Dir. v. Wis. Employment Relations Comm., 472 N.W.2d 553 (Wis. 1991). 41. Decatur Bd. of Educ. No. 61 v. I11. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 536 N.E.2d743 (I11. App. Ct. 1989); Beloit Educ. Ass'n v. Wis. Employment Relations Comm., 242 N.W.2d 231 (Wis. 1976). 42. Aplington Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Iowa Pub. Employment Relations Bd., 392 N.W.2d 495 (Iowa 1986). 43. Wethersfield Bd. of Educ. v. Conn. State Bd. of Labor Relations, 519 A.2d 41 (Conn. 1986). 44. Cent. City Educ. Ass'n v. I11. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 557 N.E.2d 418 (I11. App. Ct. 1990), appeal granted, 561 N.E.2d 687 (I11. 1990), modified, 599 N.E.2d 892 (I11. 1992). 45. MaywoodBd. of Educ. v. May wood Educ. Ass'n, 401 A.2d711 (N.J. Super Ct. App.Div.), appeal de­ nied, 405 A.2d 836 (N.J. 1979). 46. Piscataway Township Educ. Ass'n v. Piscataway Township Bd. of Educ., 704 A.2d 981 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1998). 47. See, e.g., Chee-Craw Teachers Ass'n v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 247, Crawford County, 593 P.2d 406 (Kan. 1979). 48. Bethlehem Township Bd. of Educ. v. Bethlehem Township Educ. Ass'n, 449 A.2d 1254 (N.J. 1982). 49. Union Free Sch. Dist. No. 6 Babylon v. N.Y. State Div. of Human Rights, 349 N.Y.S.2d 757 (N.Y. App. Div. 1973), appeal dismissed, 309 N.E.2d 137 (N.Y. 1974). 50. United Teachers of Seaford v. N.Y. State Human Rights Appeal Bd., 414 N.Y.S.2d 207 (N.Y. App. Div. 1979). 51. 354 A.2d781 (Md. 1976). 52. W. Fargo Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 6 of Cass County v. W. Fargo Educ. Ass'n, 259N.W.2d 612 (N.D. 1977). 53. Bd. of Educ. of Huntington v. Associated Teachers, 282 N.E.2d 109 (N.Y. 1972); Public Employees Relations Comm. v. Dist. Sch. Bd. of DeSoto County, 374 So. 2d 1005 (Fla. Ct. App. 1979). 54. Pedersenv. S. Williamsport Area Sch. Dist., 677 F.2d 312 (3d Cir. 1982). 55. In re Susquehanna Valley Teachers Ass'n, 429N.Y.S.2d 741 (N.Y. App. Div. 1980),o^W,420N.E.2d 400 (N.Y. 1981); but see Bd. of Educ. Cattaraugus Cent. Sch. v. Cattaraugus Teachers Ass'n, 447 N.Y.S.2d 51 (N.Y. App. Div. 1981), aff'd, 434 N.E.2d 262 (N.Y. 1982). 56. Bd. of Educ. of Huntington v. Associated Teachers, 282 N.E.2d 109 (N.Y. 1972). 57. Vacav. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171 (1967). 58. Baker v. Bd. of Educ. ofW. Irondequoit, 514N.E.2d 1109 (N.Y. 1987). 59. Jacobs v. Bd. of Educ. of E. Meadow, 405 N.Y.S.2d 159 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1977), rev 'd, 409 N.Y.S.2d 234 (N.Y. App. Div. 1978). 60. Acting Super, of Sch. of Liverpool Cent. Sch. Dist. v. United Liverpool Faculty Ass'n, 369 N.E.2d 746 (N.Y. 1977); Sch. Comm. of Danvers v. Tyman, 360 N.E.2d 877 (Mass. 1977); Bd. of Educ. of Phil­ adelphia v. Philadelphia Fed. of Teachers Local No. 3, 346 A.2d 35 (Pa. 1975). 61. Wyandanch Union Free Sch. Dist. v. Wyandanch Teachers Ass'n, 397 N.E.2d 384 (N.Y. 1979); Sch. Dist. of Erie v. Erie Educ. Ass'n, 447 A.2d 686 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1982). 62. Acting Super, of Sch. of Liverpool Cent. Sch. Dist. v. United Liverpool Faculty Ass'n, 369 N.E.2d 746 (N.Y. 1977). 63. Minn. Educ. Ass'n v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 495, 290 N.W.2d 627 (Minn. 1980).

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64. Fortney v. Sch. Dist. of W. Salem, 321 N.W.2d 225 (Wis. 1982); see also Scranton Fed. of Teachers, Local 1147 v. Scranton Sch. Dist.,444 A.2d 1144 (Pa. 1982); Sch. Dist. of Erie v. Erie Educ.Ass'n, 447 A.2d 686 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1982). 65. Niagara WheatfieldAdm'rAss'nv. Niagara Wheatfield Cent. Sch.Dist.,375N.E.2d37(N.Y. 1978). 66. Matter of Buffalo Council of Supervisors & Adm'r v. City of Buffalo Sch. Dist., 626 N.Y.S.2d 623 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995). 67. Kennewick Educ. Ass'n v. Kennewick Sch. Dist. No. 17, 666 P.2d 928 (Wash. App. Ct. 1983). 68. In re Brighton Cent. Sch. Dist., 505 N.Y.S.2d 522 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1986); Bd. of Educ. v. Round Valley Teachers Ass'n, 914P.2d 193 (Cal. 1996); Oak Harbor Sch. Dist. v. Oak Harbor Educ. Ass'n, 545 P.2d 1197 (Wash. 1976). 69. McCutcheonv. Chicago Principals Ass'n, 513 N.E.2d55 (111. App. Ct. 1987); Ayerv. Bd. of Educ. of Cent. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 330 N.Y.S.2d 465 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1972); Fairplay Sch. Township v. O'Neal, 26 N.E. 686 (Ind. 1891). 70. Nelson v. Doland Bd. of Educ., 380 N.W.2d 665 (S.D. 1986). 71. Morton v. Hampton Sch. Dist. No. 1, 700 S.W.2d 373 (Ark. Ct. App. 1985). 72. Big Sandy Sch. Dist. No. 100-J v. Carroll, 433 P.2d 325 (Colo. 1967); Bd. of Educ. of D.C. v. Wilson, 290A.2d400(D.C. 1972). 73. Enstad v. N. Cent, of Barnes Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 65, 268 N.W.2d 126 (N.D. 1978). 74. Sch. Bd. of Leon County v. Goodson, 335 So. 2d 308 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1976); Lynch v. Webb City Sch. Dist. No. 92, 418 S.W.2d 608 (Mo. Ct. App. 1967). 75. Oneal v. ColtonConsol. Sch. Dist. No. 306,557 P.2d 11 (Wash. Ct. App. 1976); Fishery. Church of St. Mary, 497 P.2d 882 (Wyo. 1972). 76. Parliment v. Yukon Flats Sch. Dist., 760 P.2d 513 (Alaska 1988). 77. McBeth v. Bd. of Educ. of DeValls Bluff Sch. Dist. No. 1, 300 F. Supp. 1270 (E.D. Ark. 1969). 78. Williams v. Albemarle City Bd. of Educ., 508 F.2d 1242 (4th Cir. 1974). 79. Bowbells Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 14 v. Walker, 231 N.W.2d 173 (N.D. 1975). 80. Bradkin v. Leverton, 257 N.E.2d 643 (N.Y. 1970). 81. Davis v. Bd. of Educ. of Aurora Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 131, 312N.E.2d335 (111. App. Ct. 1974). 82. Bottineau Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Currie, 259N.W.2d 650(N.D. 1977); Knipmeyerv. Diocese of Al­ exandria, 492 So. 2d 550 (La. Ct. App. 1986); Bd. of Educ. of D.C. v. Wilson, 290 A.2d 400 (D.C. 1972); D'Ulisse-Cupo v. Bd. of Dir. of Notre Dame High Sch., 520 A.2d 217 (Conn. 1987). 83. Brown v. Caldwell Sch. Dist. No. 132, 898 P.2d 43 (Idaho 1995). 84. Niedbalski v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. No. 24 of Platte Ctr., 418 N.W.2d 565 (Neb. 1988); Corcoran v. Lyle Sch. Dist. No. 406, 581 P.2d 185 (Wash. Ct. App. 1978); but compare Cal. Teachers Ass'n v. Governing Bd. of Mariposa County Unified Sch. Dist., 139 Cal. Rptr. 155 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977). 85. See Foster v. Ohio State Univ., 534 N.E.2d 1220 (Ohio App. 1987). 86. Gainey v. Sch. Bd. of Liberty County, 387 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1980). 87. Price v. Okla. Coll. of Osteopathic Med. & Surgery, 733 P.2d 1357 (Okla. App. Ct. 1986). 88. Swager v. Bd. of Educ., Unified Sch. Dist. No. 412, 688 P.2d 270 (Kan. Ct. App. 1984). 89. George v. Sch. Dist. No. 8R of Umatilla County, 490 P.2d 1009 (Or. 1971). 90. Law v. Mandan Pub. Sch. Dist., 411 N.W.2d 375 (N.D. 1987); Pine River State Bank v. Mettille, 333 N.W.2d 622 (Minn. 1983). 91. Heideck v. Kent Gen. Hosp., Inc., 446 A.2d 1095 (Del. 1982); Jackson v. Action for Boston Cmty. Dev., Inc., 525 N.E.2d 411 (Mass. 1988); Johnson v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 745 S.W.2d 661 (Mo. 1988). 92. Castiglione v. Johns Hopkins Hosp., 517 A.2d 786 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1986). 93. Haverland v. Tempe Elementary Sch. Dist. No. 3,595 P.2d 1032 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1979); Bump v. Union High Sch. Dist. No. 3, 24 P.2d 330 (Or. 1933). 94. Baltimore Teachers Union v. Mayor of Baltimore, 6 F.3d 1012 (4th Cir. 1993). 95. See Chandler v. Lamar County Bd. of Educ., 528 So. 2d 309 (Ala. 1988).

CHAPTER

10

TORTS

A student throws a pencil striking another in the eye. A visitor trips in a pothole on the school grounds and injures his knee. An intruder forces a student into a school closet and rapes her. A student severs his finger on a saw in shop class. Another student sneaks out of school during school hours and is injured by a speeding motorist. A teacher sues the school because her supervisor's evaluation described her lesson plans as unprofessional. Cases like these are the province of the body of law known as torts. Unlike criminal law, which deals with wrongs against society in general, torts deals with harm inflicted by one party on another whether by intentional wrongdoing, reck­ lessness, or simple carelessness. Whereas the primary purpose of criminal law is to punish the wrongdoer, tort law seeks to provide restitution to the injured party. Tort law provides a way to sue for compensation for wrongful harm to, among others, one's body, property, or reputation. The usual remedy is monetary damages, although courts may also issue an injunction to prohibit the continuation of a harmful activity. A typical tort suit involves one private individual suing an individual, a corporate body, an agent of the government, or the government itself for harm done either inten­ tionally or negligently. Children may be plaintiffs in lawsuits against their schools and school districts or against individual educators. Children may also be defendants in tort suits, although, in practice, it may be difficult to prove the elements of a tort case against a young child, particularly a tort that requires a showing of intentional wrong­ doing, such as battery. It also may be difficult to collect damages from children, many of whom have few assets of their own. As a result, individuals injured or damaged as a result of a tort committed by a student at school often seek to hold the school liable (e.g., for failing to adequately supervise the child). Whereas schools and their employees once enjoyed protection from tort suits under principles of government and government officer immunity, these immunities have been severely curtailed or eliminated in most states. As a result, tort suits may be 255

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brought against individual educators as well as the school board or district itself, and, occasionally, individual school board members. Individual teachers and principals may be held personally responsible for their tortious acts. Principals may also be held liable for failing to properly train or supervise a teacher who commits a tort as a result of the principal's failure. School boards and districts may be held liable regarding such matters as the failure to provide a sufficient number of teachers to supervise school ac­ tivities or for the faulty maintenance of the school's buildings and grounds. School dis­ tricts may also be held "vicariously" liable for the tortious acts of their employees or anyone else authorized to act on behalf of the district (see sec. 10.5). Because of the variety of activities schools undertake and the immature and active nature of their clientele, school boards and personnel are particularly vulnerable to cer­ tain kinds of tort suits. Yet, school districts of similar size, programs, and demograph­ ics often vary greatly with regard to the number of suits filed against them, suggesting that a high rate of tort litigation is not inevitable. With attention to legal principles and care, the risk of incurring a tort suit can be greatly reduced. This chapter presents an overview of the law relating to the types of torts that are most common in schools. A principal goal of the chapter is to provide an understanding of the principles of tort law sufficient to form the basis of a program of preventive law. 10.1

INTENTIONAL TORTS: BATTERY, ASSAULT, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, AND INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF MENTAL DISTRESS

Intentional means that a person desires to bring about the consequences of an act or believes that the consequences are almost certain to result from it. If X, believing he is alone on the desert, fires a gun, and the bullet strikes and injures Y, X intended to fire the gun but not to injure Y. If, however, X throws a bomb into Y's office with intent to injure him, knowing that Z is also there and will almost certainly be injured too, then X intended the injury not only to Y but also to Z. X's intent to injure Y applies to Z as well. Motive is distinguished from intent. Motives are the reasons for bringing about the consequences of an act. Minors are liable for their intentional acts; however, a minor's age, knowledge, and intelligence are important in determining if the minor was capa­ ble of forming an intent to harm. Battery is the intentional, unwanted, and offensive or harmful touching of another person's body with the intent to cause the other to suffer the contact. Battery can in­ volve direct bodily contact such as a punch or the use of an object such as a stick. A con­ tact is viewed as offensive if it would be offensive to a hypothetical reasonable person. However, consent to some bodily contact is assumed in normal situations where con­ tact is inevitable, such as a crowded elevator. Assault is distinct from battery. An assault is an action that has the intent to place another in reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm or offensive contact. The apprehension must be one that would be aroused in the mind of a reasonable person. Words accompanying an action can add to the apprehension. Whereas battery protects bodily integrity, assault protects peace of mind. Thus, in assault, the person in danger of immediate bodily contact must have knowledge of the danger. An assault typically precedes a battery, but, even if no battery occurs, the assault is still actionable. Both

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battery and assault may be crimes as well as torts and can lead to both a civil lawsuit and a separate criminal prosecution. False imprisonment is the intentional confining of a person within a fixed space. The person must be conscious of the confinement or harmed by it. The restraint can be accomplished by physical barriers, threats of force, false assertion of legal authority, or indirect methods such as confiscating a purse to prevent the departure of the owner. The tort of false imprisonment protects people's interest in freedom from restraint. Al­ though rare in school contexts, false imprisonment claims may be brought in cases of the unjustified confinement of a student. The tort of intentional infliction of mental distress permits people who have been subjected to extreme and outrageous conduct to sue for damage done to their peace of mind. Discomfort arising out of ordinary everyday insults, indignities, profanity, or even threats is not actionable, and only distress that a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities would feel in the circumstances may be compensated. In one case, a coach played a trick on a kindergarten student by telling the student that the coach had hanged two of the student's friends. The coach showed the student one of the friends lying on the floor pretending to be dead. When the student began to cry, the coach admitted the joke. Subsequently, the student, previously a well-adjusted five-year-old, began to ex­ perience psychological difficulties: he refused to go to the bathroom alone and to wipe himself, he was afraid the coach was going to jump out of the mirror at him, he would not sleep in his own room, and he became overly dependent on his mother. The student won an award of $100,000 and his parents won an additional $10,000 for loss of con­ sortium, damage to the relationship between parent and child.1 Besides cruel pranks such as this, repeated, severe verbal and physical abuse (in­ cluding racial and sexual harassment, see sec. 5.9) may result in a claim of intentional infliction of emotion distress, but these cases are often difficult to win. The Eight Cir­ cuit denied a claim of intentional infliction of emotional stress brought against a band teacher who publicly humiliated a student in a variety of ways including regularly and publicly calling the student "retarded," "stupid," and "dumb." The teacher belittled the student in front of the class for poor performance on a written assignment, threw the student's notebook in her face, and told her she could no longer play in the band "be­ cause she was too stupid." The court ruled that although the teacher's behavior was "unprofessional" and "intemperate" (and despite the fact that the student became de­ pressed and suicidal), it did not meet the legal requirements for intentional infliction of emotional distress: "To constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress," ex­ plained the court, "a plaintiff must show (1) that there has been intentional or reckless conduct; (2) that the conduct was so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and is to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community; and (3) that the conduct caused emotional distress so severe that no reasonable person should be expected to endure it."2 The Defense of Privilege A defendant is not liable for an intentional tort if the defendant's act was privileged. Tort law recognizes that certain actions are socially so important that the defendant is

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protected from liability despite injury to the plaintiff. The privileges most often rele­ vant in education cases are the authority of certain adults to discipline children, con­ sent, self-defense, and defense of others. Although the plaintiff carries the burden of persuading the court that a tort has occurred, the defendant has the burden of establish­ ing the existence of one of the privileges. The privilege of discipline allows parents and teachers to use reasonable force in­ cluding corporal punishment for the discipline and control of children. For example, school officials may seize pupils who refuse lawful orders and physically compel them to move.3 However, there are limits to what constitutes reasonable force, and tort suits charging school personnel with assault and battery are not uncommon. Whether the force used on a child was reasonable is determined in light of the age, sex, physical and mental condition of the child, the nature of the child's wrongdoing, the reasons for the child's actions, the influence of the child's example on other children, whether the force was necessary to compel the child's obedience, whether the force was propor­ tionate to the child's offense, and the harm inflicted. Findings of abuse of the privilege of discipline are most common if the child suffers permanent or long-term harm, espe­ cially physical injury, or if the teacher acts out of ill-will or malice. The courts have also found liability when the force was unnecessarily degrading, as in the case of a teacher who used a cattle prod to discipline his pupils.4 In states where corporal punishment is illegal by statute, educators may still use rea­ sonable force to control students but not in retribution for wrongdoing. Even in states where corporal punishment is legal, its use is generally limited to statutorily specified purposes and must be reasonable under the circumstances. For example, a Texas court found that under that state's law, corporal punishment may only be used when "neces­ sary (1) to enforce compliance with a proper command issued for the purpose of con­ trolling, training or educating the child, or (2) to punish the child for prohibited conduct; and, in either case, the force or physical conduct must be reasonable and not disproportionate to the activity or offense." Based on this principle, the court found that a football coach was not privileged to use "physical violence against a child" for purposes of "instruction and encouragement." Such use of violence, concluded the court, might constitute assault, even though the coach had no intent to injure the child5 (see sec. 4.5). Consent by the plaintiff to the tortious conduct of the defendant generally precludes the liability of the defendant. Consent may be expressed explicitly or implied from the plaintiff's conduct. The defendant can show that the plaintiff consented by presenting evidence demonstrating that a reasonable person would have understood the plaintiff as consenting. The privilege extends only to the specific conduct to which the plaintiff consented, not related acts. The consent is not effective if not given voluntarily or if the plaintiff lacked capacity to consent. There is no specific age when a minor acquires the capacity to consent, so the issue must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In general, the more serious the invasion of a minor's interest, the less likely that the minor has the capacity to consent. The defense of assumption of risk, closely related to consent, is discussed in Section 10.4. The privilege of self-defense and the privilege of defense of others allow the use of reasonable force to defend oneself or someone else against unprivileged battery or other bodily harm that one reasonably believes is about to be intentionally inflicted by

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another. In some cases, a person may reasonably believe there is danger, even if no danger actually exists. The past conduct, reputation, words, and gestures of the plain­ tiff can be taken into account in determining if an apprehension of danger was reason­ able. The question is whether, for example, a reasonable teacher would have believed that a pupil was about to intentionally inflict harm. If so, the privilege of self-defense or defense of others applies, but the act of defense must be proportionate to the threat. In one case, a teacher successfully claimed self-defense when he pulled a gun from the glove compartment of his car and brandished it at a student who had been chasing him with a thirty-inch two-by-four.6 A majority of the states allow a person to stand and fight when threatened even if flight is possible. The privilege of self-defense ends when the assailant has been dis­ armed or defeated, withdraws, or gives up. Revenge and retaliation are not self-defense.7 Students are not privileged to use force to resist teachers physically enforcing lawful orders. For example, if a teacher orders a student to leave the classroom, the stu­ dent refuses, and the teacher forcibly escorts the student from the class, the student is not privileged to use self-defense against the teacher. One may use self-defense only against unprivileged uses of force.8

10.2

DEFAMATION AND EMPLOYEE LETTERS OF REFERENCE

When people spread gossip about teachers or students, write reference letters or per­ formance reviews, publish articles in the school newspaper or yearbook, make com­ ments about school administrators at public meetings, answer questions about someone else in the course of an investigation, or write statements about students for inclusion in their permanent file, the possibility of saying something defamatory arises. Defamation occurs when one person makes a false statement about another that causes damage to the person's reputation or standing within the community. Generally speaking, libel is written defamation and slander is spoken defamation, although this distinction has undergone some modification in recent years. To support a legal finding of defamation, a certain specific set of conditions or ele­ ments must be present. The six elements of defamation are: false facts, harm, publica­ tion, clear reference, standard of fault, and no privilege. Although the law of defamation varies somewhat from state to state, the principles presented are applicable in most jurisdictions. The first element of defamation is that the defendant must have conveyed false facts about the plaintiff. There must be a significant misrepresentation or inaccuracy, some­ thing more than a minor error or technical untruth.9 A statement by a principal that teacher X had missed class more than once a week for a year or by a teacher that stu­ dents Y and Z had had sexual relations would satisfy this element if the alleged events had not occurred. False facts can be communicated by implication as in the case of a former employer who told a prospective employer he "couldn't go into" the reasons for a dismissal. The statement was made in a way that implied that the employee had been terminated for serious misconduct.10 Statements of pure opinion, such as "I don't like teacher Jones," cannot be the basis of a defamation suit because they do not state a fact that can be disproved. Subjective

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judgments based on true facts and conclusions from facts assumed to be generally known, such as "Jones is the worst teacher in the school," cannot be defamatory even if unreasonable or unfair.11 Courts have viewed an accusation that a principal was a racist12 and, in another case, a student's writing that a professor's in-class statements made her believe that the professor was homophobic13 as opinion and therefore not de­ famatory. Also generally immune from defamation because they convey opinions rather than alleged facts are verbal abuse, hyperbole, and humor. Thus, in one case, the caption, "Not tonight Ms. Salek. I have a headache," under a teacher's photo in the "Funny Pages" of the school yearbook was ruled nonactionable.14 On the other hand, statements of mixed opinions may satisfy the first element of defamation. Mixed opinions are statements apparently based on facts not expressly stated nor assumed to exist; the statement thus implies that the speaker or writer pos­ sesses facts that justify the opinion. A statement such as "In my opinion, teacher Jones is an alcoholic" may be defamatory because it implies a set of facts that may be false. So may statements like "I feel that teacher Jones does not turn the students on" and "I believe that Jones is unwilling to go the extra mile" because they imply a lack of effort and success in teaching.15 Whether the burden of proof regarding the truth or falsity of an allegedly defama­ tory statement lies with the plaintiff or defendant varies with the type of case. The Su­ preme Court has ruled that when the statement involves a matter of public concern, the plaintiff must prove that it was false.16 In cases involving nonmedia defendants, many states require the defendant to prove the truth of the statement; however, the law is changing on this point, with an increasing number of jurisdictions placing the burden on the plaintiff to prove falsity. The second element of defamation is that the defendant's statement must have caused harm to the plaintiff's reputation or standing within the community. Another way of saying this is that the statement must have been defamatory. Some statements are considered defamatory per se, meaning that they are assumed to have caused harm. Accusations of criminal behavior, adultery, or that a person is suffering from a sexu­ ally transmitted disease are defamatory per se.17 Courts are split on whether falsely stating that a person is homosexual is defamatory per se.18 Statements that are not de­ famatory per se can still be defamatory per quod if the defendant can show that the statement caused actual harm.19 Accusations of intoxication at a public dinner, that a teacher let students "pet" in the hallways, and that a teacher stole books from the school were all found to be defamatory per quod.20 Accusations by an employer or su­ pervisor that an employee abused drugs or committed sexual harassment at work may be defamatory per quod.21 The third element of defamation is publication. The statement must have been in­ tentionally communicated by the defendant to someone other than the plaintiff, such as by sending a letter of reference to a prospective employer. In one case, dictation to a secretary of a dismissal letter counted as publication.22 A person who repeats a state­ ment has satisfied the element of publication even if the original source is cited; so has anyone assisting in communicating a statement to others, such as the publisher of a book or a school that sponsors a student newspaper. However, if someone eavesdrops on a statement by the defendant to the plaintiff or someone copies and distributes a let­ ter from the defendant to the plaintiff, the defendant is not liable.

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Employers sometimes seek to avoid liability for defamation by orally informing only employees themselves of reasons for their dismissal and subsequently refusing to write anything other than the confirmation of dates of employment in letters of refer­ ence. Employees seeking new employment then may face the dilemma of having either to lie or to repeat false defamatory statements about themselves when asked what rea­ sons their former employer gave for dismissing them. To deal with this situation, the legal theory of compelled self-publication has recently emerged. The doctrine holds that when defamatory statements are made to a terminated employee, publication will be assumed because the employee will be forced to repeat the reasons for the dismissal when seeking reemployment.23 The fourth element of defamation, clear reference, means that it must be reason­ ably apparent that the statement was about the plaintiff. The plaintiff does not have to be specifically named in the statement; the reference can be by inference, even as part of an alleged work of fiction in which the plaintiff is recognizable as one of the charac­ ters. Statements regarding a group of people—for example, "All teachers in school X smoke pot"—can satisfy this element if plaintiffs can show that the statements referred to them as part of the group. Even a reference to "some" teachers in the building might satisfy this element for plaintiffs who prove that their reputations were damaged.24 The fifth element, standard of fault, varies from case to case depending on the sta­ tus of the plaintiff within the community, the topic of the allegedly defamatory com­ munication, and the specifics of state law. If the plaintiff is a public official and the topic relates to the official's performance of duty or fitness for office, defamation can be found only if the defendant knew of the falsity of the statement or spoke with reck­ less disregard of the truth.25 A school newspaper sued for accusing the superintendent of schools of embezzling district funds would fall into this category. This same stan­ dard, known as actual malice, also applies in cases involving public figures such as movie stars and communications by individuals who voluntarily involve themselves in matters of public concern. At the other end of the spectrum, in cases involving private individuals, most states require only a showing of negligence, meaning that the defendant was careless about whether the statement was true. A suit against a school newspaper for writing that a student had sexual relations with numerous partners fits in this category. The fault standards for cases falling between these established categories are still somewhat in question, but, in general, cases involving public matters invoke the actual malice stan­ dard, and private matters call for a lesser standard of fault. Public officials and figures have a much heavier burden of proof of defamation than private citizens. Although several Supreme Court cases have defined these categories,26 the definitions have proved difficult to apply in education cases. Most courts would probably agree that a state or local superintendent of schools is a public official. In one case, a Maryland court ruled that a high school principal was a public official, a classification that most courts would also probably follow.27 Courts are split regarding teachers and coaches; some consider them private persons28 and others classify them as public officials.29 There is even more uncertainty as to what constitutes a matter of public concern and which matters of public concern are related to an official's performance of duties or fit­ ness for office. To date, courts have not provided clear definitions of these concepts.

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The most that can be said is that a topic is more likely to be judged a matter of public concern if it is the sort of issue that should be open to wide public debate.30 Even when the first five elements of defamation can be proved, there are certain sit­ uations when, as a matter of law, defendants are immune from a finding of defamation. The sixth and final element of defamation, no privilege, means that defamation can only be found when no such immunity or privilege exists. An absolute privilege protects from liability for defamation even for false, defama­ tory statements made with malice or intent to harm. An absolute privilege of speech obtains concerning statements made in judicial or legislative proceedings; statements made by certain government executive officers, including superintendents of schools in some states, in the course of their duties; statements made with the consent of the person spoken about; and statements made between husband and wife when they are alone. Broadcasters are also immune from suit when a candidate for public office makes a defamatory comment over the air. Qualified privileges, also called conditional privileges, can be forfeited if the speaker goes beyond the scope of the privilege, uses it for reasons other than for which it was created, speaks with the intent of causing harm,31 or otherwise abuses the privi­ lege. A commonly used standard finds the privilege to have been abused when the de­ fendant knew the defamatory statement to be false or had no reasonable grounds for believing it to be true.32 Thus, a qualified privilege may be lost because of actual mal­ ice, or a reckless or callous disregard for the truth.33 In all cases, the defendant has the burden of invoking the privilege, but the plaintiff must establish that it was abused. Of the various categories of qualified privilege, the ones most relevant to education are those that protect communications to someone who may act in the public interest, protect fair comment on matters of public concern, and protect communications made in the interest of a third party. The first category includes statements made by one pub­ lic official to another regarding official duties, employee evaluations within an organization,34 and statements by private citizens about the conduct of public officials. In one case, a school board member was protected by the first category of qualified privilege when the board member said that marijuana cigarettes had been found in a student's car.35 Another case that fell into the first category involved a principal who incorrectly informed the guidance office that the plaintiff had suffered a mental breakdown.36 A parental report to school officials and other interested parties regarding the allegedly harmful behavior of a teacher would fall into the first and second categories of quali­ fied privilege.37 In some states, common law includes post-employment letters of reference in the third category of qualified privilege.38 In addition, about half the states have adopted employee reference statutes that specifically extend a qualified privilege to employers and supervisors in the writing of letters of recommendation.39 These statutes vary somewhat, but they generally permit employers who have received a request from a former employee for a reference to reveal job performance information about the for­ mer employee. The privilege is lost if the employee can show by preponderance of evi­ dence that false and defamatory information was conveyed with actual malice or with reckless disregard for the truth. As executive officers, superintendents may enjoy absolute privilege regarding false and defamatory statements made in the performance of their job. One court found that

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a superintendent could not be held liable for defamatory statements contained in a let­ ter of reprimand placed in a teacher-coach's personnel file.40 However, in the same case, the court extended only qualified immunity to the superintendent regarding a statement he issued to the press. The current trend in most states is to extend only quali­ fied immunity to local government bodies and officials such as school board members and superintendents of schools. In some states, parents enjoy absolute immunity when airing complaints about a teacher at a school board meeting. Thus, a New York court ruled that parents enjoyed absolute immunity from a libel suit regarding a petition filed with the school board. In that petition, the parents claimed that the teacher had missed classes, struck a student, threatened bodily harm to a student's mother, accused a student of being a liar without justification, and insulted a student with an ethnic slur.41 However, some states extend only a qualified privilege to parents.42 A privilege that may be invoked regarding school board meetings and other forums of debate of educational issues is known as the fair report privilege. The fair report privilege protects fair and accurate reports of governmental proceedings, official ac­ tions, and even nongovernmental proceedings that deal with matters of public concern.43 The value of the privilege is that it protects a defendant against liability even when the defendant repeats a defamatory statement that was made during a proceeding and even if the defendant knows the reported assertions are false; the privilege is not limited to reporting on public officials or public figures. Once the defendant has made a prima facie case for the fair report privilege, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to estab­ lish that the privilege should not operate because of substantial inaccuracy or unfair­ ness of the report.44 The privilege is not lost if the report of the proceedings is substantially accurate. The most common defamation suits in education involve reference letters written by administrators to prospective new employers. Generally, plaintiffs will not win these suits unless the recommender acts with malice or otherwise abuses the qualified privilege.45 Thus, to avoid the possibility of an adverse finding of defamation, a recom­ mender need only make a good faith effort to accurately convey relevant information. Minor inaccuracies, inadvertent errors of fact, and honestly offered adverse evalua­ tions of performance will not support a finding of defamation. In cases when a recom­ mender knowingly and maliciously distorts the truth to prevent a former employee from securing a new job, damages may be awarded to compensate the employee for harm done to reputation, loss of earnings, and mental anguish. In severe cases, punitive damages may also be awarded. False and malicious recommendations that prevent an applicant from securing a job can also lead to liability under another tort known as in­ tentional interference with prospective contractual relations and, in some states, criminal liability under antiblacklisting statutes. Despite the considerable protection built into the law for recommenders who act in good faith, many school districts have become overly cautious about the recommenda­ tions they provide for former teachers. Some schools refuse to provide any recommen­ dations at all, and others provide only positive recommendations whether deserved or not. Although effectively eliminating possible lawsuits for defamation, the no-recommendations policy is extremely unfair and detrimental both to praiseworthy former teachers and to prospective future employers of ineffective former teachers. To com­

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bat this trend, thirteen states have enacted "service-letter" statutes giving employees the right to receive written confirmation of employment from former employers; how­ ever, most of these statutes are of limited use as they only require the provision of dates of employment and positions held. The policy of providing falsely positive recommendations even to teachers fired for serious incompetence or wrongdoing, although educationally and morally inde­ fensible, seems in most states to entail little legal risk. A New York court expressly rejected a negligence claim (see sec. 10.4) against a school that failed to disclose that a teacher had a record of sexual misconduct.46 However, at least in theory, an em­ ployer who either fails to disclose negative information or misrepresents an em­ ployee in a positive way could be held liable for negligent nondisclosure or negligent misrepresentation.47 The California Supreme Court has actually applied this theory in one extreme case: Three school districts, former employers of Robert Gadams, wrote extremely positive letters of reference containing such comments as "I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mr. Gadams for any position." None of the letters mentioned Gadams' long history of improper sexual contact with students in all three school districts. Gadams was hired by a fourth district where he sexually assaulted the plaintiff. The plaintiff brought suit against the former employers. The court found that the letters recommending Gadams without reservation or qualification "constituted affirmative representations that strongly implied Gadams was fit to interact appropriately and safely with female stu­ dents. These representations were false and misleading in light of defendants' ... knowledge of charges of Gadams' repeated sexual improprieties." Having undertaken to provide some information about Gadams' fitness as a teacher, said the court, the for­ mer employers had an obligation to disclose all other facts that materially qualified the facts disclosed: "[T]he writer of a letter of recommendation owes to third persons a duty not to misrepresent the facts in describing the qualifications and character of a former employee, if making these misrepresentations would present a substantial fore­ seeable risk of physical injury to third persons."48 10.3

INVASION OF PRIVACY, STUDENT RECORDS, AND THE DUTY TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE

Closely related to defamation, invasion of privacy is a multifaceted tort that can be committed in four different ways: (a) appropriation or use of a person's name or like­ ness for gain, such as using the name of a movie star to promote a product without per­ mission; (b) unreasonable intrusion on the seclusion of another; (c) unreasonable publication of private facts about another—the unreasonable publication must involve public disclosure of private facts, and the matter made public must be highly offensive and objectionable to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities (the truth of the pri­ vate facts is not a defense); and (d) unreasonable publication that places another in a false light in the public eye. Although unusual in school contexts, invasion of privacy may occur if school offi­ cials disclose information about teachers or students concerning sexual behavior, medical history, family problems, school performance, substance abuse, socioeco­

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nomic status, or other private matters for reasons not supported by legitimate educa­ tional concerns. For example, school officials should be careful to inform only those who have a need to know that a teacher or student has AIDS. However, not everything that a person wishes to keep secret is considered a private matter by the law. In one case, school officials spoke with the media about an incident in which three teachers were in an alcohol-related accident following a retirement party. An Oregon appellate court reversed a verdict of invasion of privacy against the school officials because the accident and the school district's campaign to stop drinking were public knowledge and the disciplinary record of the teachers was public information under state law.49 Invasion of privacy may also be claimed in connection with unjustified searches, in­ cluding drug testing, of students or teachers. A Texas court ruled that an employer's search of an employee's locker and a purse found in the locker could create liability for invasion of privacy.50 The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that random drug test­ ing of employees was an unwarranted invasion of privacy, but testing upon reasonable suspicion was not.51 Recall that unjustified searches and drug testing can also violate the constitutional rights of students (see sec. 4.3) and teachers (see sec. 7.3). In some situations, the law recognizes a privilege to disclose private facts as a de­ fense against invasion of privacy. The privilege may be absolute (e.g., when one is a witness at a trial) or qualified, as when an employer makes internal disclosures of pri­ vate information about an employee.52 Similarly, educators have a qualified privilege to disclose private information about a student to another educator or to a former student's new school on a need to know basis. Student Records

Concerns about the privacy and contents of student records engendered considerable litigation and state legislative activity during the 1960s and early 1970s.53 Critics complained that school records often contained unfounded, erroneous, or irrelevant information and that records were kept secret from parents and children but routinely released without permission to police, employers, creditors, and anyone else who asked. Several state and federal courts held that parents had a common law or due process right to inspect their children's school records under certain conditions and about half of all states granted parents access to records by statute. In 1974, Congress enacted the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), often called the Buckley Amendment.54 The Act is designed to protect the privacy of students and assure fairness in the keeping and use of school records. School records include most materials directly related to a student and maintained by the school district. However, certain types of records are not included: personal instruc­ tional records of teachers kept in the teachers' sole possession and shown only to sub­ stitute teachers; records of a law enforcement unit of a school district; and records of a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized health-care professional or paraprofessional, made, maintained, or used only in connection with the treatment of a student. The Supreme Court has ruled that FERPA is not violated by the practice of let­ ting students grade each other's tests.55 All rights conferred by the Act belong to parents until the child reaches eighteen years of age, after which they belong to the former child and no longer to the parents.

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The Act requires that parents, including noncustodial natural parents,56 be granted ac­ cess to all records maintained by the school concerning their child within a reasonable period of time, in no case more than forty-five days after requesting it. After inspecting the records, parents have a right to request the modification of any portion they believe false, misleading, or violative of privacy or other rights of their child. If the school re­ fuses to modify the record, parents must be given a full and fair hearing before an im­ partial hearing officer to decide whether the record will be changed. At the hearing, each side may be represented by counsel, present evidence, call witnesses, and cross-examine the other's witnesses. The hearing officer must render a decision in writing based solely on the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing with noth­ ing outside the record considered. Should the parents prevail, the school must modify the record in accordance with the hearing officer's findings. Even if the school pre­ vails, parents must still be allowed to add a statement to the record presenting their side of the story. In addition to making school records available to parents, FERPA requires that they be kept confidential from all others, with certain specified exceptions. Records may be shown to educators within the school system who have a legitimate educational inter­ est in them, but a log must be kept of all those viewing the record. Records may be sent to other schools in which the student seeks to enroll or in response to a subpoena, but in both cases parents must be notified. Schools may disclose personally identifiable in­ formation to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. Records may also be shown to state and federal education agencies for research and statistical purposes. Otherwise, records must not be released without written permission of the parents, except that the school may, if it wishes, provide "directory" information such as names, addresses, fields of study, activities, and awards. The Supreme has ruled that FERPA does not create a private right of action, mean­ ing that an individual may not sue a school either directly or by using the federal law known as Section 1983 (see sec. 10.9) to redress a violation of FERPA.57 However, school districts that fail to comply with FERPA may have their federal funds withheld by the Secretary of Education, and educators may be liable if statements contained in student records are libelous or invasive of privacy. Reporting Child Abuse Although exact figures on the incidence of child abuse are unavailable, conservative estimates conclude that a million or more children are abused each year. In response to this social tragedy, all fifty states have enacted statutes requiring that cases of actual or suspected child abuse be reported to various authorities. Although these laws vary among the states, they tend to embrace a broad definition of child abuse, including physical and emotional abuse, neglect and abandonment, incest, sexual molestation, and sexual exploitation, including using children for pornographic purposes. The duty to report suspected incidents of child abuse generally extends to health practitioners and those who work in positions involving child care, including teachers, school administrators, and other school personnel. In addition to those required to re­

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port suspected child abuse, any person with reasonable cause to suspect that a child was abused may make a report. Reports must be made to a specifically designated state agency responsible for child protective services. In some states, the law also requires that school employees notify the person in charge of the school or a designated agent, who then becomes responsible for making the report. The law thus anticipates that each school will have a properly developed internal system for processing child abuse reports. The law may also impose a duty on the school to provide all current and new employees with written information explaining the reporting requirements. If there is an initial oral report, it must typically be followed by a written report that includes the name and address of the child; the name and address of the child's parent or guardian; the child's age, sex, and race; the nature and extent of the suspected abuse; information regarding prior injuries or abuse; information regarding the abuse of sib­ lings; the name of the person allegedly responsible for the abuse; the name and address of the person making the report; and actions taken by the reporting source. Because of the great importance of protecting children from abuse and to allay fears of legal reprisals, the law grants immunity from civil and criminal liability to people who report child abuse. In some states, the immunity is absolute, meaning there is no liability even for maliciously and knowingly submitting a false report.58 In other states, immunity is only granted for reports made in good faith. Good faith will be presumed if the reporters were "acting in discharge of their duties and within the scope of their employment," and if the report did not result from "willful misconduct or gross negligence."59 Despite the availability of legal immunity, educators often hesitate to make child abuse reports. The failure to make a report that the law requires is a misdemeanor that exposes the educator to the possibility of criminal prosecution. There is also the possi­ bility of civil liability; for example, for harm done to a child by an abuser that might otherwise have been prevented. It is, therefore, legally imperative that educators file a report whenever they have reasonable cause to suspect that child abuse has occurred. In addition to actual observations of abuse and of its consequences, such as a pattern of poorly explained bruises and other injuries, a reasonable suspicion of abuse might be based on conversations with the child, the parents or other suspected abuser, or the child's friends. A professional assessment of the child by the school psychologist may provide further supporting evidence, as would knowledge of prior abusive behavior by the suspected abuser. When making a report, an effort should be made to repeat accu­ rately what the child and other people interviewed actually said.

10.4

NEGLIGENCE

The single most common type of litigation in education is students suing school dis­ tricts and educators because they were injured at school. These suits raise the issue of negligence. Negligence can be defined as the failure to exercise reasonable care result­ ing in harm to another person. Ordinary negligence is not a crime, but some negligent acts expose a person both to a civil tort suit for negligence and separate criminal charges. An example is a car accident caused by driving while intoxicated that seri­ ously injures another person.

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A finding of negligence requires the plaintiff to prove the existence of each of four elements. The failure of the plaintiff to establish any of the elements precludes a find­ ing of negligence: 1. Duty and standard of care. The defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff to conform to a standard of care established by law. 2. Breach of duty. The defendant failed to live up to the standard of care. 3. Legal cause. The defendant's behavior resulted in harm to the plaintiff. 4. Injury and damages. The plaintiff sustained an actual injury, one that can be measured in monetary terms. Duty and Standard of Care Despite the fears of many educators, not all accidents or injuries create liability for negligence. Negligence can be found only in connection with behavior that "falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm."60 The generally applicable standard of behavior established by statute or common law in most situations is that of a reasonable person acting prudently in light of the circumstances. Thus, in order to avoid a finding of negligence, every person has a duty always to act as would a hypothetical reasonable person. If a person fails to live up to this duty and injury or other harm to another person re­ sults, there may be liability for negligence. No one is liable, however, for accidents that were unavoidable, not foreseeable, or not preventable by reasonable precautions. Thus, a school bus driver would be liable for injuries caused by careless driving, but a bus driver with no history of heart trouble would not be liable for an accident resulting from a sudden heart attack. Because of the responsibilities inherent in their jobs and the special skills teachers are supposed to possess, educators in most states are held to a different and generally higher standard of behavior than ordinary citizens.61 Teachers are expected to do a better job of protecting students from injury than an average reasonable and prudent person would. For example, if a visitor to a school sees students throwing ice balls at each other on the playground, ignoring the students would not fall below the required standard of care. However, if a teacher assigned to supervise the playground ignored the ice ball fight, the teacher's behavior would be below the applicable standard.62 States vary regarding the duty of care imposed by law on school officials. Some states' tort laws hold educators to the standard of a "reasonably prudent parent," how­ ever, Illinois teachers are liable only for willful and wanton misconduct. Regarding the furnishing of equipment to students, however, Illinois imposes a stronger standard— "ordinary prudence."63 As in Illinois, in some states, the standard of care applicable to school personnel may vary depending on the specific job or activity the employee is performing. A Michigan statute holds that when disciplining students, a school official is liable only for gross abuse and disregard of the student's health and safety.64 By con­ trast, regarding the operation of school buses, a few states impose an extraordinary duty of care.65 Nebraska has specified the duty owed by a coach in dealing with an in­ jured football player as "that of the reasonably prudent person holding a Nebraska

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teacher certificate with a coaching endorsement."66 Educators who establish a "special relationship" with a student—for example, by promising to protect a student who has been threatened—may be held to an especially high standard of care.67 The reasonable and prudent teacher is a fictitious person who sets an objective stan­ dard of behavior. What the judge or jury determines this hypothetical person would have done in a given situation is the standard against which the behavior of an educator charged with negligence is measured. If the teacher has a physical disability, the stan­ dard of conduct is that of a reasonable teacher with a like disability. Expert testimony from other teachers and educators can help to establish the professionally expected norms of conduct.68 In general, the higher standard of care expected of educators obtains only when they are on the job. With the exception of school-sponsored events, there is usually no duty to supervise or protect students off school grounds or outside school hours beyond that of an ordinary citizen.69 Courts have generally not held schools liable for criminal as­ saults on students by third parties on nonschool property contiguous to the school un­ less school officials had specific knowledge of imminent criminal activity or prior incidents suggested that a criminal assault was foreseeable.70 However, a Louisiana court found a school liable for a shooting on contiguous property, ruling that the dis­ trict had assumed the affirmative duty of protecting its pupils on contiguous property when it hired a security counselor who was stationed outside the school during the noon hour.71 A district also may be held liable for injuries to a student off school grounds if the student was able to leave the school because of negligent supervision.72 But the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that a school district does not have a duty to provide crossing guards at all intersections even if the district has undertaken to provide guards at some intersections and even if the city has designated an intersection as a school crossing.73 Some courts have said that, depending on circumstances, educators may be held lia­ ble for failing to supervise students just before or after formal school hours.74 In a case in which a pedestrian was hit by a student "peeling" out of a school parking lot, a Cali­ fornia court held that a school district had a duty to nonstudents to supervise students as they drove out of the school parking lot.75 Also, if educators voluntarily undertake supervision of students who arrive early or stay late, the applicable standard of care is that of an educator, not an ordinary citizen.76 Under certain circumstances, principals and other school administrators may owe a duty to students to ensure that teachers are properly supervising them. In one case, the Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that a principal was legally liable to a student who sustained quadriplegic paralysis as a result of the faulty execution of a gymnastic exer­ cise. The student was being supervised by a recently hired physical education teacher who was also held legally responsible for his negligent supervision. The principal was found liable on the grounds that he was negligent in entrusting the physical education program to an inexperienced teacher without providing closer supervision, for failing to instruct the teacher to refer to a bulletin on physical education published by the state department of education, and for failing either to require the former teacher to develop a plan for the new teacher or to require the new teacher to develop a detailed plan.77 Courts have generally held that schools do not have a duty to protect teachers from attacks by students.78 However, there are some exceptions. In a New York case, a

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principal assigned a student with violent propensities to a class being taught by a sub­ stitute teacher. The teacher sued the school after being assaulted by the student. The court ruled that the school had a duty to inform the teacher of the student's tendency to violence. 79 A duty to protect teachers may also exist if a school district establishes a special relationship with its teachers; for example, if the district's contract with the union requires the district to establish a security system to protect teachers from as­ saults by students. Most injuries to teachers at school, whatever the cause, are cov­ ered by workers' compensation, which usually precludes a suit for negligence (see sec. 8.8).80 Breach of Duty Generally, the key to determining whether an educator's conduct fell below the re­ quired standard of care turns on the question of whether the educator should have fore­ seen the resulting injury. The mere existence of an injury is not proof that the standard of care has been breached. School officials are not expected to prevent every conceiv­ able injury, only to take reasonable precautions designed to prevent foreseeable inju­ ries. Nor is the absence of a teacher when an injury occurs in itself proof of breach of duty. Schools are not ordinarily required to supervise every student every minute of the school day, although the longer students are left alone, the more likely a finding of breach of duty. Different school activities pose different sets of known dangers, and appropriate precautions must be taken accordingly. Students must be properly instructed in the performance of potentially dangerous activities in advance. Supervision and precau­ tions must increase if past occurrences indicate an increased likelihood of danger. The age, capacity, and past behavior of students are also relevant to the foreseeability of danger. The likelihood of a finding of breach of duty is increased if a state law, regula­ tion, or a school's own policy is violated. Ultimately, however, the determination of foreseeability and breach of duty occurs on a case-by-case basis. The following are examples of cases where students were injured and educators were found to have breached their duty of care: • A regular classroom teacher left a lighted candle on her desk, and a child whose costume came in contact with the flame was badly burned.81 • A teacher left a classroom of mentally retarded teenagers unattended for a half hour, and one student threw a wooden pointer, injuring the eye of another.82 • A student was abducted from school by an intruder and raped. The doors of the school were not locked, and there was a history of sexual assaults and other vio­ lent crimes in the neighborhood.83 • A student was pushed out of a bathroom window by other students in a school with racial tensions.84 • On the school playground, students engaged in slap boxing for five to ten minutes until one student fell, mortally fracturing his skull.85 • A student was injured when permitted to wear mittens while playing on the jungle gym.86

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• Students were required to play a game of line soccer in the gym with little experi­ ence or technical instruction in soccer skills. A melee occurred as the students kicked for possession of the ball, and one student was hurt.87 • In shop, a student was injured using a drill press while the instructor, who had not properly instructed students in use of the press or provided safety warnings, was absent from the shop.88 • A fifteen-year-old student employee stole chemicals from an unlocked chemistry lab and left them in bushes outside the school. The chemicals were found by an eight-year-old boy who was burned when he put a match to them.89 • On a school-sponsored field trip, a child unsupervised while swimming in the ocean was hurt by a rolling log.90 • After classes, a student had an accidental run-in with another student who then threatened her with death. Plaintiff informed a teacher and sought help in the secu­ rity office, but there were no security personnel in the office or in their assigned lo­ cations at the time students were leaving school. When the plaintiff and her sister were attacked in the school building, there was no assistance available to them.91 • A student who was attending a school event in a park near the school was given permission to leave the park to obtain lunch at a nearby pizzeria. While the stu­ dent was in the pizzeria, her class left the park. When she returned to the park and could not find her class, she proceeded to walk home alone, at which time she was accosted and raped.92 • Two school counselors were informed by a student's friends that the student in­ tended to kill herself. After the student did kill herself, a court held the counselors had a duty to use reasonable means to prevent the suicide and that they breached that duty when they failed to warn the student's parents.93 Legal Cause In all states, the law imposes liability only for harms that are reasonably closely associ­ ated with negligent conduct. Generally, a finding of legal cause requires that two con­ ditions be met: (a) causation in fact, that the injury be a result of the negligent party's act and (b) proximate cause, that the act be sufficiently connected to the injury to be considered its cause. (The term "proximate cause" is often also used synonymously with "legal cause" to encompass both requirements.) Different states seem to interpret the notion of legal cause differently, and it is not always easy to reconcile cases even within the same state. A widely used test for causation in fact is the but-for requirement: A person's behav­ ior is the cause of an injury if the injury would not have occurred but for the behavior. An act or omission is not a but-for cause of an injury if it would have happened regardless of what the defendant did. For example, a school fails to erect a fence around the school yard. A truck driver loses control and enters the school yard killing a student. The failure to install the fence is not the proximate cause of the death if the truck would have crashed through the fence had it been there and still killed the student. Even when the but-for requirement is met, courts sometimes fail to find proximate cause for reasons of fairness or public policy when an injury is separated from its but­

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for cause by time, space, or intervening events. Consider the following example: John is walking around the chemistry lab with a glass container filled with an explosive liq­ uid. The teacher, Miss Smith, is in the supply closet for a half hour. Jim, a student with roughhousing tendencies, pushes John. The container falls and sets off an explosion. The impact of the explosion knocks a large vase off a shelf in another room across the hall. The vase hits the floor, breaks, and fragments of glass embed in Ellen's eye. Ellen sues Smith for negligence. Arguably Smith's absence is a but-for cause of the accident. Had she been present, she might have prevented John from walking around with the dangerous liquid or might have controlled Jim's roughhousing. But, should Smith's actions be considered a proximate cause of Ellen's injury? As a matter of public policy and fairness, are peo­ ple to be held liable for any bizarre chain of events their behavior might set into mo­ tion? How proximate does a cause have to be? Generally, courts do not find proximate cause in cases like the one described;94 how­ ever, there is no set rule for determining when an act is sufficiently closely connected to a consequence to be considered a proximate cause. Among the tests courts have em­ ployed are to find defendants responsible for the but-for consequences of their acts that are foreseeable harms, directly traceable harms, or, in retrospect, not highly extraordi­ nary. Using any of these tests would appear to absolve Smith from negligence in con­ nection with Ellen's injury. The Smith hypothetical also raises the issue of intervening causes. Suppose a defendant's carelessness contributes to an injury but so does another independent cause arising subsequent to the defendant's behavior. For example, the defendant sets a fire and afterward a wind springs up spreading the fire. The question is whether the defen­ dant is not liable because of the subsequent event. Generally, the courts hold the defen­ dant liable even in the face of an intervening cause if the intervening cause was foreseeable. Thus, a teacher who leaves a lighted candle on her desk can foresee that a misbehaving child might push another child into the candle. Similarly, a teacher who fails to fulfill assigned hall duty in a school in a high crime neighborhood could foresee that an intruder might enter the school and harm a student. However, a teacher who sends students to the playground without proper supervision could not foresee they might be injured by an earthquake. In the following instances, the courts concluded that legal cause had not been proven: • A fourteen-year-old student left school in the middle of the day and went joyrid­ ing. A high-speed police chase resulted in a serious car accident in which the boy was hurt. The parents sued the school claiming negligence regarding, among other things, the failure of the school of notify them of their son's truancy. The court ruled that failure to notify of the truancy was not a legal cause of the student's injury.95 • At the noon recess, a student threw a small rock that hit a larger rock on the ground and bounced up to strike another student in the eye. The supervising teacher had just walked past this group of boys when the incident occurred. The court ruled that "[w]here the time between an act of a student and injury to a fel­ low student is so short that the teacher had no opportunity to prevent injury, it can­ not be said that negligence of the teacher is a proximate cause of the injury."96

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Injury and Damages In addition to establishing a breach of a standard of care and legal cause, the plaintiff must establish the existence of an injury and the monetary value of the injury. If a pre­ vious injury of the plaintiff is aggravated by the defendant, the defendant is liable only for the additional loss. The plaintiff generally can collect monetary compensa­ tion for losses such as damage to property, physical injury (including past and future medical expenses), lost earnings, pain, and emotional distress. Most courts do not permit recovery for emotional distress unaccompanied by physical injury, illness, or other physical consequences.

Affirmative Defenses Even if all four elements of negligence are proven, a defendant's liability may be eliminated or reduced by the existence of one or more factors. The most common of these defenses are contributory negligence, comparative negligence, and as­ sumption of risk. The burden is on the defendant to raise and prove an affirma­ tive defense. Contributory Negligence Contributory negligence is conduct on the part of the plaintiff below a reasonable standard of care for self-protection that contributes along with the defendant's behavior to the plaintiff's injury. The principles of proximate cause apply to the contributory negligence defense. Historically, and still in a few states today, if the defendant could prove contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, the plaintiff could not recover any damages. This was true whether the plaintiff's own negligence was slight or extensive. The standard of care children owe themselves depends on their age, experience, and capacities. Thus, the same behavior by a seventeen-year-old and ten-year-old might be viewed differently, with the elder being held contributorily negligent but not the younger. In some states, children below a certain age, often seven, are pre­ sumed by law to be incapable of being contributorily negligent. The contributory negligence defense may be effective in cases where older students disobey express instructions regarding the use of dangerous equipment in shop or dangerous ma­ neuvers in gym,97 or if older students mix chemicals just to see what might happen or with the deliberate intention of building a bomb.98 Comparative Negligence The contributory negligence doctrine can produce an unfortunate outcome: Slight negligence on the part of the plaintiff can let a more negligent defendant off the hook. Hence, an increasing majority of states have substituted the comparative negligence doctrine. Comparative negligence holds that plaintiffs whose negligence contributes to their own injuries can re­ cover damages only for the portion of the injury attributable to the defendant's negligence. Comparative negligence does not totally bar recovery by the plain­

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tiff, but it reduces the damages in proportion to the plaintiff's fault. Some states have modified comparative negligence rules to bar recovery if the plaintiff s neg­ ligence was more than fifty percent or greater than the defendant's. In one case where the comparative negligence defense was used, a seventh-grade student broke his leg playing a pick-up game of tackle football in violation of school rules. The teacher was ruled negligent for not seeing and stopping the game, but the court also ruled the boys were old enough to know that tackling could cause injury. Thus, the court reduced the percentage of fault attributable to the teacher and school board to five percent. The plaintiff was allowed to recover $10,000 rather than the $200,000 awarded by the trial court."

Assumption of Risk A plaintiff can relieve the defendant of liability by expressly or implicitly recognizing a danger and voluntarily assuming the risk. Voluntary partic­ ipants in athletic contests assume the risk of the normal hazards of the sport. Spectators who sit near the sidelines of a playing field assume the risk of being hurt by players crashing into them in the normal course of the game. To successfully employ the defense of assumption of risk, the defendant must estab­ lish that the plaintiff knew the risk was present. The plaintiff's age and level of experi­ ence will be considered. It must also be shown that the plaintiff understood the nature of the risk and that the assumption of the risk was voluntary. A person may not consent to assume a risk if confronted with a choice of evils, under duress, or given no choice. Even valid assumptions of risk are limited to the normal risks associated with the activ­ ity. For example, a football player does not consent to deliberate infliction of injury by other players in violation of the game's rules or assume the risks of substandard equip­ ment or poorly maintained fields.100 Schools often try to protect themselves from potential lawsuits by asking parents to sign forms indicating an awareness of the dangers connected with an activity, as­ suming the risk, and releasing the school from liability. But are these forms legally effective? For example, is a school district immune from suit if parents sign a con­ sent and waiver of liability enabling their child to participate in a school field trip? At a minimum, for releases from liability to be effective, they must be voluntarily and knowingly executed 101 and specifically indicate what fault is being waived. Even when these conditions are met, a number of courts have ruled that waivers by schoolchildren or their parents are contrary to public policy. 102 In a significant number of jurisdictions, any ambiguity in a waiver will be interpreted against the school district. 103 Other courts have said that although waivers may be valid as to the parents, they do not block suits by the injured children themselves. 104 Thus, re­ lease forms often do not block redress for a school's negligence, but they do serve the useful purpose of showing that parents agreed to expose their children to the dangers normally associated with an activity.105 In sum, the law of negligence does not require that schools be insurers against all harms that may come to students. Constant and unremitting vigilance and supervision are not required. What is always required, however, is the care that a reasonable and prudent person would take in the circumstances. When unusual dangers exist, such as the presence of students with a known propensity for violence, special caution must be

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employed. This duty extends to principals, teachers, bus drivers, and all other person­ nel placed in a position of supervising students. Furthermore, school boards and school administrators have a duty to ensure ade­ quate levels of supervision depending on the circumstances and the age and capacities of the pupils. Similarly, they have a duty to provide safe shop, laboratory, and gym equipment and proper instruction and warnings regarding the performance of poten­ tially dangerous tasks. State health and safety regulations must be enforced as well as the school's own rules. Appropriate medical care should be provided in the case of ac­ cidents. If supervision is undertaken when not required by law, it must still meet legal standards of adequacy. 10.5

NEGLIGENT HIRING AND VICARIOUS LIABILITY

When school employees intentionally harm pupils or other employees, their school or school district may be held legally responsible under either or both of two separate and distinct legal theories, negligent hiring and respondeat superior. Under the doctrine of negligent hiring, an employer is held responsible for having acted negligently in the hiring or retention of an employee who harms someone else. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is held vicariously liable for wrongful acts commit­ ted by an employee within the scope of the employee's job. Negligent Hiring

To establish that a school district should be held responsible for negligent hiring or negligent retention, an injured plaintiff must establish three points: that the person who caused the injury was unfit for hiring or retention or was only fit for the position if given more supervision than was actually provided, that the hiring or retention was the legal cause of the injury, and that the employer knew or should have known of the employee's lack of fitness. Because employers are often unaware of an employee's lack of fitness, liability typically turns on whether an employer should have become aware of an employee's unfitness through more careful investigation or closer supervision of the employee. For example, in a nonschool case, the employer of an apartment man­ ager was held liable after the manager assaulted a female tenant. The assault was clearly outside the scope of the manager's employment, yet the employer was liable be­ cause the employer had made only a cursory investigation into the background of the manager, and a more thorough investigation would have uncovered the fact that the manager had been convicted of violent crimes. Legal cause was established because the employer's negligence was the only reason the manager was on the premises and had a passkey.106 On the other hand, an employer will not be held responsible if it cannot be estab­ lished that the employer should have known about an employee's propensity for wrongdoing. In one case, a court ruled that a school district could not have known about a principal's history of sexual abuse when the principal had resigned from his previous position ostensibly for health reasons and none of the principal's references had mentioned his previous history. Telephone interviews with former employers did

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not reveal any history of allegations against the principal and letters of reference re­ ferred to him as "one of the most promising men in education" and lamented having "lost a very valuable educator."107 Some states have statutes dealing with inquiries about the arrests and convictions of prospective employees. California requires applicants for noncertified school employ­ ment to submit fingerprint cards prepared by a local law enforcement agency so the ap­ plicants may be screened.108 California law also prohibits the hiring of people convicted of a violent or serious felony for positions requiring certification.109 Some state laws prohibit employers from asking about arrests or detentions that do not result in convictions, whereas others specifically allow such inquires subject to certain re­ strictions regarding who in the company has access to the records.110 Illinois exempts local governments and school districts from restrictions imposed on other employers and permits convictions to be used in evaluating employees.111 New York permits an employer to deny employment based on criminal convictions only if the conviction is related to the job at issue.112 Texas law requires school districts to "obtain criminal his­ tory record information." Federal regulations permit the use of arrest record informa­ tion in hiring where it is related to the position and is relatively recent even if there is a disparate impact on a class protected under Title VII (see sec. 7.4).113 Vicarious Liability

Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, school districts may be held vicariously liable for the negligent and, sometimes, the intentional wrongdoing of their employees and anyone else authorized to act on their behalf. Respondeat superior holds the ultimate em­ ployer, not the supervisor, liable for the tortious acts of its "servants," even if the em­ ployer was not at fault, provided the tortious act was committed within the scope of employment. Thus, teachers who negligently supervise the playground may expose not only themselves but also the school district to liability. Students and parent volunteers who negligently perform services for the school under the school's direction and control, even if they are not compensated, may also expose the district to vicarious liability. Whether a district will be held liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior de­ pends on a number of factors that vary somewhat from state to state. Often, the main issue is whether the employee's act was committed within the scope of employment. Whether an act was within the scope of employment is determined case by case, con­ sidering the time, place, and purpose of the act; its similarity to what was authorized or required of the employee; and a host of other factors. However, a school or other em­ ployer cannot avoid vicarious liability by forbidding in advance what was done or by ordering the employee to act carefully. A California case required the court to decide whether a school should be held vicar­ iously liable for a custodian sexually molesting an eleven-year-old student in the custodian's office after school. The court said that for the assault to be considered within the scope of the custodian's employment it was necessary that the act was required or "incident" to his duties or the misconduct was reasonably foreseeable. The court con­ cluded that sexual molestation was "in no way related to mopping floors, cleaning rooms, or any of the other tasks that are required of a school custodian." The employee

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was motivated by his personal ends, not the purposes of the job; the mere fact that he was on the job and used school facilities was not a basis for liability. It might have been different if the tortious act was done in connection with carrying out his assigned du­ ties (e.g., a security officer who uses excessive force in controlling students). The court defined foreseeability to mean that in the context of the particular enterprise an employee's conduct is not so unusual or startling that it would be unfair to include the loss resulting from it among other costs of the employer's business.... The test is not whether it is foreseeable that one or more em­ ployees might at some time act in such a way ... but rather, whether the employee's act is foreseeable in light of the duties the employee is hired to perform.

The court had no difficulty in concluding that the sexual assault was nothing other than "highly unusual and very startling"; it was not the kind of conduct that was likely to occur in the conduct of the school district's business. Hence, the court concluded the district would not be held vicariously liable.114 Many courts will not hold a school district liable under respondeat superior for a teacher's sexual abuse of students if the school district was justifiably unaware of the abuse because sexual relations with students are completely outside the scope of teach­ ers' job-related duties.115 Recall, however, that a school district may be liable for sex­ ual abuse under Title IX (see sec. 5.9), Title VII (see sec. 7.4), or other federal statutes (see sec. 10.9). A school district may be held vicariously liable for acts outside the scope of a teacher's employment if the school district permits the teacher to act with apparent au­ thority. Thus, in one case, a court held the school district liable when a girl was negli­ gently injured during a "powder puff football game held at halftime of the regular game, even though the game's sponsoring teacher had acted outside the scope of his employment. Because the powder puff team used the school's field and locker room, and the school helped publicize the game, the court reasoned that the school had a duty to ensure that the players were furnished with proper safety equipment.116 Vicarious Liability of Parents

If school districts can be held vicariously liable for the tortious acts of their employees, may parents be held vicariously liable for torts committed by their children? For the most part, they may not although most states have adopted statutes imposing a modest level of liability (no more than several thousand dollars) on parents for the willful and wanton torts of their child. Parents may also be held legally responsible for the torts of the child that the parent directed or encouraged, or if the parent entrusts the child with a dangerous instrument such as a gun, leaves a gun where it is accessible to a child, or fails to take a gun from a child. "More broadly, the parent who has notice of a child's dangerous tendency or proclivity must exercise reasonable care to control the child for the safety of others, and the parent who ignores the child's tendency to [for example] beat other children ... may be held for his or her own negligence in failing to exercise control." Parents will not, however, be held responsible "for general incorrigibility, a bad education and upbringing, or the fact that the child turns out to have a nasty dispo­ sition." The parent may be under a duty to warn others of their child's disposition.117

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These principles were applied by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in finding parents legally liable for the harm their son did to a teacher. The parents of Jason, who had at­ tention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stopped providing him with his prescribed med­ ication without informing themselves of the consequences of doing so by consulting with their physician and without informing school officials. Several months later, while a teacher was attempting to remove Jason from the classroom for misbehavior, Jason grabbed the teacher's hair with such force that she fell, herniating a disk in her neck; the teacher required an operation and the curtailment of almost all her activities outside of work. The court found the parents negligent, not for removing him from the medication, but for not taking reasonable steps to control their son—failing to inform themselves about the consequences of stopping the medication and about alternative forms of treatment, and failing to inform school officials that Jason's disruptive behav­ ior might return. The court noted that if school officials had been notified, their ap­ proach to handling Jason would have been different, and the injury to the plaintiff might have been averted.118

10.6

LIABILITY FOR DANGEROUS BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

Possessors of land and buildings, including school districts, owe duties to all who enter their property. Traditionally and in somewhat more than half the states today, the law divides those who enter property into three categories: trespassers, licensees, and invitees. The duty of owners to inspect, repair, and maintain their property and to warn entrants of possible hazards varies according to the category of entrant; the highest duty is owed to invitees and the lowest to trespassers. Premises liability cases in schools have involved many kinds of hazards: jagged edges on equipment, failing equipment, falling ceilings, slippery floors, pot holes on playgrounds, unsafe electri­ cal equipment, icy sidewalks, badly illuminated passageways, defective playground and gym equipment, and attacks on visitors attending school events. A trespasser is a person who enters the property of another without permission or privilege to do so. One also becomes a trespasser by leaving that part of a property to which one has been admitted and entering another part without permission. A person who breaks into a school at night to use the gym is a trespasser, but someone who uses an outdoor playing field on school grounds that is readily accessible and regularly used by the public for recreation is not. Trespassers must take care of themselves, even in encounters with inherently dangerous conditions such as an open pit with no railing or warning sign. Hence, the owner is not liable to the trespasser for failure to exercise rea­ sonable care to make the property safe or to conduct business on the property in a way that would be safe for the trespasser. The owner, however, is not permitted intention­ ally to inflict injury on the trespasser; for example, by deliberately setting a trap. The owner must refrain from willful and wanton harmful conduct toward the trespasser. Although the law is interested in protecting property rights, it recognizes even a trespasser's interest in safety. A licensee is anyone who has a privilege—tacit or explicit consent—to enter on prop­ erty. Licensees include social guests, salespeople calling at a private home, and people who have personal business dealings with employees of the owner or possessors of the

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land. Outside groups meeting at a school would generally fall into the category of licens­ ees as would employee spouses entering the school for legitimate reasons. Most courts treat trespassers similarly to licensees if the trespasser's presence is known to the owner. The duty owed to licensees is to warn or otherwise protect them from unreasonable risks of which the owner is aware but the licensees are not. Licensees generally must assume the risks associated with hazards unknown to the owner. An owner also has a duty to protect child trespassers and licensees from any attrac­ tive nuisance on the property. The attractive nuisance doctrine holds that an owner is liable for physical harm to trespassing children if the owner knew or should have known that children were likely to trespass on the place where the harm occurred, the owner knew or should have known that conditions on the property posed an unreason­ able risk to children, the children because of their youth were not aware of the risk, the usefulness to the owner of maintaining the risk and the cost of eliminating it were slight as compared to the risk to children, and the owner failed to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the risk or protect the children.119 Some states adhere to the additional re­ quirement that the owner is only liable if the child was attracted on to the property by the same condition that injured the child.120 Schools are therefore responsible for taking reasonable steps to keep trespassing children away from potentially dangerous areas of the school and campus. However, some courts will not hold schools responsible for injuries to trespassing children caused by risks that children can understand and appreciate such as the risk of falling off a roof.121 The classic attractive nuisance is an unguarded accessible swimming pool, but school grounds often contain other attractive nuisances like power tools, trampolines, lab equipment, and driver education cars. An invitee may enter land as a business visitor or as a public invitee. Business visi­ tors include customers and clients of businesses, drivers picking up and delivering goods, people seeking employment, independent contractors and their employees doing work on the premises, and others invited to do work. People using public play­ grounds or attending free public lectures and others on land by reason of a general invi­ tation to the public are public invitees. Students, school employees, and, at times, even the public are invitees to schools.122 Invitees have a legal expectation that the property will be made safe for them. Owners must protect them not only from hazards that the owner knew about, but also from hazards that the owner could have discovered by careful inspection of the property. The duty owed the invitee is not that of an ensurer of absolute safety. Nor is the pos­ sessor of land expected to discover all hazards instantly. What is required is reasonable prudence under the circumstances (e.g., taking steps to warn people away from floors made slippery by mopping). Invitees and licensees are expected to take some care in protecting themselves from obvious hazards. The standard rule has been that the owner has no duty to protect the invitee against hazards that are known or obvious to entrants. However, many courts have in recent years found this rule unsatisfactory in cases where invitees are legiti­ mately distracted and thus unable to protect themselves against known or obvious dan­ gers. Thus, an increasing number of jurisdictions now embrace a different rule: "A possessor of land is not liable to his invitees for physical harm caused to them by any activity or condition on the land whose danger is known or obvious to them, unless the

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possessor should anticipate the harm despite such knowledge or obviousness."123 A hole in a school playground may be obvious, but the school district should anticipate that running students may not pay attention to the hole. Regarding the child invitee, the duty of self-care will depend on the child's age, ma­ turity, and experience. In some cases, school officials may invoke the defenses of con­ tributory or comparative negligence or assumption of risk (see sec. 10.4), but the child plaintiff may counter by claiming distraction, youthful lack of judgment and capacity, or inadequate warning of the hazard. In one case, a Missouri court ruled that a junior high school student injured in a long-jump competition had not assumed the risk of a dangerous condition created by the school district.124 If players voluntarily continue to play even after becoming aware of dangerous conditions on a field, they may be found to have assumed the risk.125 Some states have adopted recreational use statutes that protect landowners from lia­ bility when the landowner invites members of the public to use the land for recreational purposes without charging a fee. The landowner will only be held liable for willful or wanton negligence. Even where such laws exist, they may not apply to schools.126 Slips and falls caused by accumulations of ice and snow on school property pres­ ent an especially slippery issue. Courts in more than half the states, relying on either common law or statute, hold there is no duty to protect entrants against natural accu­ mulations of snow and ice as long as the accumulation was not "artificial" (created by human activity), the hazard was not aggravated by the owner, and the owner did not voluntarily attempt to deal with the hazard but do so negligently. In states without this "natural accumulation" rule, snow and ice cases are treated like other premises liability cases. In deciding these cases, courts consider a number of factors including the fierceness of the storm, the length of the interval between the end of the storm and the accident, the obviousness of the hazard, whether the plaintiff could be expected to be carrying vision-obscuring objects, efforts undertaken to alleviate the hazard (e.g., spreading sand or salt), the adequacy of lighting, and whether a warning was provided.127 In the more than twenty states that have abolished the traditional categories of en­ trants on to property, premises liability cases are decided in a manner similar to other negligence cases (see sec. 10.4). Liability is determined based on the reasonableness of the owners' actions in light of the foreseeability of the injury. When making this de­ termination, the courts look at a variety of factors including the expected use of the pre­ mises; the reasonableness of the inspection, repair, and warning; and the burden on the owner to provide adequate protection. Schools in these states may face a heightened risk of premises liability especially with regard to entrants who traditionally would have been classified as licensees. For example, a student voluntarily using a school's athletic field for a summer workout would be considered a licensee in some states. The student would therefore be unable to collect damages for injuries sustained as a result of a hazardous condition at the field of which the school was unaware. However, in states that take the new approach, the student could collect damages if the school's in­ spection and maintenance of the field was not adequate given its likely use. Finally, a brief note on federal legislation requiring public and private schools to in­ spect for and take appropriate steps to eliminate asbestos from their premises. Failure to comply with these requirements exposes the school district and school officials to

EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE

281

monetary civil penalties. Individual school officials may be fined up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance with the law.128 10.7

EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE

Malpractice, whether in education, medicine, law, or another enterprise, is a special­ ized form of negligence arising out of a professional practice. The basic claim in a mal­ practice case is that a professional practitioner has caused harm by failing in the duty to competently provide services in accordance with the standards of the profession. Be­ cause malpractice is a category of negligence, all four elements of negligence must be proven. Thus, in medicine, the profession whose malpractice litigation has been the most widely publicized, successful suits do not arise simply out of undesirable results or even mistakes in medical treatment. A finding of medical malpractice requires proof that a doctor had a professional duty to treat a patient in a certain manner; that the doc­ tor failed to live up to that duty, thus placing the patient at unreasonable risk of injury; and that the failure of performance was the legal cause of actual injury. In education, two types of malpractice claims have been brought. The first type, brought by pupils who have failed to learn (usually to read), alleges a breach of duty in the provision of an instructional program. The argument is that from the student's fail­ ure to learn and from facts relating to the education given the student, a failure to teach properly can be inferred. Sometimes, plaintiffs also make the related claim that the school was negligent in certifying learning that did not in fact take place—either by as­ signing passing grades or granting a diploma.129 A second type of malpractice case al­ leges the provision of an inappropriate education or other harm as a result of a failure to properly assess or classify. 130 Courts have rejected educational malpractice claims in both categories on the grounds that educators have no statutory or common law duty to their students to per­ form up to a professional standard and that in any case, considerations of public policy preclude recognition of educational malpractice as a cause of legal action. However, some instances of educational wrongdoing—for example, a teacher's intentionally and maliciously furnishing false information to parents about a child's disability 131 or a guidance counselor misinforming a student about the requirements for eligibility for college athletics132—may be actionable based on other legal theories. 10.8

GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY AND STATUTES AFFECTING TORT SUITS

In the old common law, the doctrine of sovereign immunity protected state govern­ ments from tort suits. This decision by government to prohibit its laws and courts from being used against itself was descended from a principle of English law that "The King can do no wrong." The doctrine of sovereign tort immunity has been extended from the state itself to its municipalities and school districts. As creatures of the state they are said to partake in the sovereignty of the state. This immunity of local government from suit is often called "governmental" or "municipal immunity." Governmental immunity has never been a complete bar to all tort suits. One of the most common exceptions permits liability regarding activities deemed proprietary,

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done as an owner, as opposed to governmental. However, the criteria used for distin­ guishing between the proprietary and governmental activities of local government are not very precise, leading to many difficulties in classification. Some states consider all school district activities governmental, whereas others classify certain fee-charging activities, such as football games, as proprietary. Another traditional common law distinction is between discretionary and ministe­ rial acts. Discretionary acts involve planning, goal setting, evaluation, and the exer­ cise of judgment; ministerial acts are performed in a prescribed manner not requiring judgment. In some jurisdictions, governments may be immune from liability for dis­ cretionary but not ministerial acts. For example, under these doctrines, a school dis­ trict could not be liable regarding the formulation of its snow removal policy but could be liable for the negligent execution of the policy.133 In any case, the doctrine of governmental immunity has undergone significant changes by reason of both legislative and judicial action. The often tortuous history and nature of these modifications vary from state to state. For example, in Michigan, governmental immunity was at first abolished by judicial action. Subsequently, it was restored by statute, but the statute was held unconstitutional on procedural grounds. Finally, the statute was reenacted, with the newly enacted law abolishing immunity only regarding proprietary functions and the creation and operation of nui­ sances that result in injury to property or people. Immunity for governmental func­ tions was retained. Today, there is considerable variation in state law on the question of governmental immunity. In a few states, governmental immunity protects school districts from lia­ bility for the tort of negligent hiring or retention. Some states allow suits regarding nondiscretionary functions only. Others limit the dollar amounts that may be col­ lected. Still others permit suits only for personal injury or death or only regarding dan­ gerous conditions of property.134 Illinois generally allows tort suits against teachers only for "willful and wanton" misconduct, but this rule is subject to exceptions that make schools vulnerable to certain other kinds of suits. Despite these variations, the trend is to limit governmental immunity, thus increasing the likelihood of school dis­ tricts being held liable for tortious acts.135 Government Officer Immunity In addition to governmental immunity, a second type of immunity protects certain gov­ ernment officers from tort liability. Judges and legislators enjoy absolute immunity from tort suits regarding judicial or legislative acts even if performed in bad faith, with malice, or with corrupt motives. School board members as individuals traditionally enjoy absolute official immunity.136 Under traditional common law, school officials and employees may also enjoy qualified immunity for acts performed without bad faith or malice and only for discre­ tionary not ministerial acts. This distinction has been difficult for the courts to apply with any consistency. A Georgia court ruled that the placing of a mat at the door of the school was discretionary.137 A Minnesota court said that a guidance counselor was im­ munized against a suit brought by parents of a student who committed suicide; the

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court ruled that the decision whether or not to tell parents about the student's contem­ plation of suicide was a matter of professional discretion and thus was subject to immunity.138 However, another Minnesota court decided that a principal's supervision of a gym teacher's gymnastics class was ministerial. The exercise of judgment, said the court, did not make it a discretionary act.139 Concerning matters relating to the preven­ tion of school violence, the trend in case law seems to be that school policies regarding the supervision of students, the hiring and assignment of security guards, and school safety generally are matters of discretion that enjoy immunity.140 School officials may still be liable for the negligent execution of school safety policies. In recent times, many states have enacted statutes revising common law official im­ munity doctrines. These statutes may draw distinctions regarding the scope of immu­ nity in terms of discretionary acts versus ministerial acts, acts within the scope versus outside the scope of employment, or curricular versus noncurricular functions, among others.141 A Connecticut statute provides that the qualified immunity doctrine will not protect an official in circumstances when it is apparent that a failure to act would be likely to subject an identifiable person to imminent harm. Based on that exception, the Connect­ icut Supreme Court ruled that a superintendent did not enjoy immunity from a suit brought by a child who slipped and broke his elbow on a sheet of ice that had not been sanded or salted and with regard to which no warnings had been posted.142 Statutes of Limitation and Notice of Claim

The failure of the plaintiff to comply with a statute of limitations or a notice of claim statute can effectively bar a tort suit. Statutes of limitation establish deadlines for the initiation of suits usually from the date of discovery of injury. Notice of claim statutes require a plaintiff to give written notice to the defendant within a specified period of time, in some states as short as three months. The notice is intended to inform the de­ fendant of the accident, and, thereby give the defendant an opportunity to investigate and prepare a defense, as well as to take steps to prevent repetition of the accident.143 Indemnity

Statutes in many states either authorize or mandate that local school districts indem­ nify their employees from personal monetary liability for torts committed in the scope of their employment. Educators may still be sued for tortious behavior, but the school is responsible for paying any damages. These laws usually indemnify both discretion­ ary and ministerial acts but exclude malicious and unauthorized conduct. 10.9

SECTION 1983 AND TORTIOUS VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW

The other sections of this chapter concentrated on the application of state tort law to ed­ ucation. In this section, we consider a federal law, known as Section 1983, that gives in­ dividuals a basis for seeking redress from schools and educators for violation of their federal constitutional and statutory rights. In some cases, Section 1983 may be used to

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supplement a tort claim, but in others, the federal statute may be the only legal basis for seeking monetary restitution for wrongdoing. Section 1983 states: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the depriva­ tion of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in any action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.144

Section 1983 does not itself create any substantive rights; it only authorizes suits for money damages for the violation of rights that other bodies of law establish. Many cases in which students or teachers allege violations of their constitutional rights (e.g., free speech, freedom from unreasonable searches, procedural due process, or equal protection) rely on Section 1983. For example, one teacher succeeded in collecting damages under Section 1983 from his superintendent and principal for the violation of his procedural due process and free speech rights. The administrators had concocted false negative evaluations regarding the plaintiff, delayed the hearing the plaintiff re­ quested to rebut the charges, and dismissed him in part for defending another educator who had been fired.145 Section 1983 has also been used to seek monetary damages for violations of what courts refer to as "bodily integrity," a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause.146 Most school bodily integrity cases concern sexual molestation147 although excessive corporal punishment may also implicate this right.148 Educators who delib­ erately cause serious harm to a student, such as a coach who put a student's eye out by hitting him with a metal object, may be sued under Section 1983 for due process violations,149 but minor injuries that result from a teacher deliberately hitting a student150 and even serious injuries that result from teacher negligence or deliberate in­ difference151 do not violate the Due Process Clause. One court ruled that a teacher's re­ peated humiliation of a student was not a due process violation.152 However, another court said that there may be a due process violation when an educator deliberately takes an action that "shocks the conscience" and increases the danger to a student. In that case, school officials sent home a violent sixteen-year-old special education stu­ dent who had previously threatened to kill himself without notifying the parents.153 Section 1983 also applies to violations of rights protected by federal antidiscrimina­ tion and other statutes.154 However, some federal statutes include their own system of remedies that preclude use of Section 1983.155 Liability of School Officials Section 1983 can only be used to bring suit against people whose actions are "fairly at­ tributable" to the state. This means that the statute cannot be employed against a pri­ vate wrongdoer such as parents who abuse their children156 or one student who racially or sexually harasses another even if the harasser happens to be receiving state benefits. 157 But what about a teacher or other school employee who violates the rights of a student or another employee? Is the wrongdoing employee to be viewed as a state actor

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subject to a Section 1983 lawsuit or as a private person? Asked in the language of the statute, under what circumstances are the actions of a school employee to be viewed as performed "under color" of the state? The answers to these questions are not fully resolved. It is reasonably clear that school employees who act in furtherance of their job-related duties or the goals of the school are acting under color of the state. Thus, a principal who strip searches a class of students for drugs without a reasonable suspicion that a particular student has drugs (in furtherance of the goal of maintaining a safe school) is subject to a Section 1983 suit. But what about school employees who act for private purposes unrelated to school goals such as teachers who molest students (recall that some courts have said that respondeat superior does not apply to employee molestation of students because the act occurred outside of the scope of employment). The Fifth Circuit ruled that a custo­ dian who raped a student was subject to a Section 1983 suit because the act occurred on school grounds when the custodian was "on the clock."158 A successful Section 1983 suit against a school employee is less likely for acts committed away from school at a time when the employee is not being paid. Even when school officials are acting under color of the state, they can only be held liable under Section 1983 for the deprivations of rights that they actually cause. Thus, the Second Circuit ruled that a principal could not be held liable under Section 1983 for a racially discriminatory dismissal of a teacher because the dismissal had been ordered by other school officials.159 Based on Supreme Court precedents, public officials, including school board mem­ bers and school employees, have a qualified immunity from judgments under Section 1983.160 The immunity applies as long as the official acted in good faith and did not vio­ late a clearly established statutory or constitutional right that a reasonable person in that position would have known.161 Any request for qualified immunity in Section 1983 lawsuits must be raised by the official claiming its protection,162 and the official bears the ultimate burden of proving that the immunity applies.163 Obviously, whether a particular point of law is sufficiently clear that a school offi­ cial should have known of it will often be debatable. In one case, school officials con­ ducted a search, without individualized suspicion, of all nineteen students in a class in order to look for a pair of stolen shoes. The district court concluded that the search was impermissible under the Fourth Amendment and that the plaintiff's constitutional rights were violated when he was suspended for refusing to consent to the search. How­ ever, the court noted that notwithstanding the T.L.O. case (see sec. 4.3), the legality of a search without individualized suspicion had not been specifically ruled upon by the Supreme Court or the Fourth Circuit in which the district court was located. Therefore, the court found that a reasonable school official would not have known that the search violated clearly established rights and, therefore, that the defendant principal was im­ mune from monetary damages.164 By contrast, the Eleventh Circuit held that reason­ able school officials could not have believed that the Fourth Amendment would allow two eighth graders to be strip searched twice in an attempt to find some stolen money. The school officials were denied qualified immunity.165 In Jefferson v. Ysleta Independent School District,166 the court considered the issue of whether a teacher should be immune from a Section 1983 lawsuit for tying a secondgrader to a chair for almost two full days of school. The procedure was not imposed as

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punishment, but was "part of an instructional technique imposed by school policy." In other words, the teacher's actions were authorized by her employer. Nevertheless, the court pointed out that the teacher was not immune from liability under Section 1983 if she "violates a clearly established statutory or constitutional right of another person known to or knowable by a reasonable person." Because the court agreed that the child's constitutional rights had been violated ("the right to be free of state-occasioned damage to a person's bodily integrity is protected by the fourteenth amendment guar­ antee of due process"), the outcome depended on whether the teacher should have been aware of this constitutional principle. The court ruled as follows: We are persuaded that in January 1985, a competent teacher knew or should have known that to tie a second-grade student to a chair for an entire school day and for a substantial portion of a second day, as an educational exercise, with no suggested justification, such as punishment or discipline, was constitutionally impermissible. A young student who is not being properly punished or disciplined has a constitutional right not to be lashed to a chair through the school day and denied, among other things, the basic liberty of access to the bathroom when needed.

This result shows the importance of teachers being aware of the general principles of education law and, in particular, of the rights of their students. In addition to Section 1983, another federal statute, Section 1985, can be used to sue school officials for conspiracy to deprive others of their rights to equal protection of the laws.167 This happened to a group of school officials who worked together to pre­ vent parents from pursuing a suit for the sexual molestation of their daughter by lying to the parents, misinforming them that bringing charges would expose them to a suit for defamation, and telling them that pursuing the case could cause problems for their other child.168 Under yet another federal statute, Section 1986, school officials who have the power to prevent a conspiracy prohibited under Section 1985 may be held lia­ ble for damages if they deliberately or negligently fail to prevent the conspiracy.169 Liability of Supervisors In the Jefferson case, the plaintiff sued not only the teacher who mistreated her but also the school principal and the school district itself. Under what circumstances may plaintiffs in a Section 1983 lawsuit prevail against the supervisor or employer of the person who violated their constitutional rights? The Supreme Court has said that supervisors can be held accountable under Section 1983 but not simply for being the supervisor of a wrongdoer. Rather, it is necessary that the supervisors themselves also committed a wrong that in some way aided, en­ couraged, or permitted the violation of a right.170 When the necessary conditions are met, supervisors may be held liable either for inadequate supervision or for the inade­ quate training of subordinates.171 The lower courts, however, are divided regarding the standard for determining whether a supervisor may be held responsible under Section 1983. A number of cir­ cuits require a showing of "deliberate indifference" by the supervisor to the wrongdo­ ing although the meaning of this standard varies somewhat from circuit to circuit.172 By contrast, the First Circuit says that supervisory liability requires a finding of "supervi­

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sory encouragement, condonation or acquiescence" or "gross negligence."173 The Sec­ ond Circuit uses a gross negligence standard.174 No matter how the standard is phrased, the chances of a supervisor being found liable increase with: evidence of prior similar incidents and that the supervisor was aware of the prior incidents, the recency of prior incidents and the shortness of the time period over which they were spread, the inade­ quacy of the supervisor's response to the prior similar incidents, the inadequacy of the response to the incident that is the subject of the litigation, efforts to cover up or sup­ press complaints, and the strength of the proof that the supervisor's inadequate re­ sponse is causally linked with the plaintiff's injury.175 Liability of School Districts In Monell v. Department of Social Services of New York 176 and Owen v. Independence,177 the Supreme Court held that Section 1983 could be used to bring suit against local governmental bodies like school districts and that government immunity cannot bar these suits. However, the Monell Court held that a local government unit cannot be held liable solely because it employs a wrongdoer. The doctrine of respondeat superior does not operate under Section 1983. Thus, unless an employee's wrongdoing meets one of the conditions listed later, the school district will not be liable. Nor as a general proposition will government agencies be held responsible for a failure to take affirma­ tive steps to protect individuals from wrongdoing by other private individuals; in in­ stances where students violate the rights of other students, the school district again will not be liable unless the case meets one of the conditions listed next. A school district may be held liable under Section 1983 for wrongs committed under its supervision or auspices if any of the following conditions are met: 1. Either (a) the wrongdoing was undertaken pursuant to a custom or formal policy of the district, (b) the individual who committed the wrongful act was an official with final policy-making authority, or (c) an official with final authority ratified a subordinate's wrongful act.178 The idea here is that if any of these cir­ cumstances is proven, the wrongdoing can fairly be said to have been caused by the district's policy. The failure to have a formal policy for dealing with sexual harassment might ex­ pose a district to Section 1983 liability because the lack of a formal policy indi­ cates a custom of tolerating sexual harassment.179 (Recall that under Title IX, districts are expected to have a policy for dealing with sexual harassment.) In one case, a principal and an assistant principal over a period of four years discouraged students from pressing charges of sexual assault by their teachers, expressed doubt regarding the validity of reported incidents, took no steps to confront the teachers, and kept only secret notes of the accusations rather than placing any­ thing in the teachers' file. The Third Circuit ruled that evidence such as this could be sufficient for a jury to conclude that the principal and assistant principal had established a custom or policy of reckless indifference to sexual abuse by teach­ ers and that this climate was a cause of the sexual assault on the plaintiff by her teacher.180 The principal and assistant principal exposed not only themselves per­ sonally but also the school district to liability under Section 1983.

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2. A school official with authority to take corrective action had actual notice of wrongdoing actionable under Section 1983 and was deliberately indifferent. This is the standard recently developed by the Supreme Court to decide whether school districts are liable in Title IX cases,181 and it can be applied in Section 1983 cases as well. Inadequate hiring policies182 or the inadequate training of employ­ ees may be viewed as forms of indifference.183 Inadequate training combined with deliberately indifferent supervision is a potent formula for district liability. A school district was found liable for a strip search of students because a previ­ ously widely publicized strip search of students had not resulted either in a policy against such searches or training of school employees.184 3. Affirmative acts of the school district expose plaintiffs to dangers to which they would not otherwise have been exposed or increase the risk of preexisting dangers.185 The mere fact that students' rights have been violated at school or that the violator is a teacher does not mean that this "state-created danger" condition has been met.186 Rather, the plaintiff must show that the school district exposed the plaintiff to people with a known propensity to harm the plaintiff or provided such people with the means or increased opportunity to injure the plaintiff.187 As­ signing a student of known violent propensities to the class of an inadequately trained teacher is the kind of affirmative step that could lead to liability.188 4. A school that is part of a state-run correctional facility or other involuntary custodial arrangement fails to protect a student against injury by another student or other third party.189 Several federal courts have said that this "special relation­ ship" condition does not apply in ordinary public schools.190 Damages

Plaintiffs suing under Section 1983 are entitled to recover only nominal damages un­ less they can show actual loss. The damage award is not based on the value or impor­ tance of the violated right, but only on the actual injuries suffered. Plaintiffs may also be able to obtain punitive damages against individual defendants who act with malice.191 Punitive damages against a school district itself are not permitted because the Supreme Court reasoned that punitive damages against a government entity would only punish the taxpayers and that only individuals, not government entities, can act with malice.192 Even with these limitations, individuals who win Section 1983 lawsuits can sometimes receive large awards.

10.10

SUMMARY

Tort law allows individuals to sue for compensation for injuries caused by the wrongful acts or carelessness of others. The injury can be to the individual's body, property, rep­ utation, or emotional well-being. Depending on the circumstances, school districts, in­ dividual school board members, administrators, and teachers may all be held liable for the commission of torts; however, a variety of common law and statutory immunities and other limitations on tort suits against governmental bodies and their employees

SUMMARY

289

may apply. Like many aspects of tort law, these immunities and limitations vary con­ siderably from state to state. Intentional torts are either acts designed to produce harm or acts that the actor real­ izes were likely to cause harm to another. In education, they are: battery, assault, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of mental distress. Educators may use reason­ able force in self-defense or to enforce legitimate orders or school rules. Also, except where prohibited by statute, educators have a common law privilege to administer cor­ poral punishment to students, but students may still sue for assault and battery if the corporal punishment is excessive or otherwise unreasonable. Defamation refers to false communications that harm an individual's reputation and good name. Libel is written defamation, and slander is oral defamation. The law of def­ amation varies depending on whether the communication deals with a matter of public concern and whether the person defamed was a public official, public figure, or private individual. School officials and school boards may be held liable for defamatory state­ ments in the school newspaper. Educators may also be liable if they knowingly write false and damaging letters of recommendation. Invasion of privacy protects individuals including students and teachers from the unreasonable publication of private facts. The privacy of student records is further pro­ tected by a federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment. The Act requires that parents have access to their children's educational records, that specified procedures be followed if parents request modifica­ tion of their child's records, and that, with certain specified exceptions, access to a child's records be granted to individuals outside the school only with parental consent. Negligence is careless or reckless behavior that causes injury to another person. It is by far the most common tort in education. School districts and individual educators can be found negligent for injuries to students, employees, or visitors to the school if they had a duty to live up to a standard of care recognized in law, they failed to live up to the duty, another person was injured as a result of their failure, and the extent and value of the injury can be measured. Teachers have a general duty to behave in all situations as would a reasonable and prudent teacher with similar training and physical capacity. The exact level of supervision and care that is required in any particular situation de­ pends on the circumstances, but the school is not expected to guarantee that accidents will never occur. School districts may also be held liable for injuries caused by hazards on their prop­ erty. These cases generally turn on the adequacy of the design of buildings and equip­ ment, maintenance, and whether conditions adhere to local building codes. In most states, liability is greater with regard to invitees to the school as opposed to trespassers; however, the school is still likely to be held liable if a child trespasser is injured by an encounter with an attractive nuisance like an unattended accessible swimming pool. Malpractice is professional negligence. Two types of educational malpractice claims have been brought: the failure to learn caused by improper instruction and harm caused by misclassification. Virtually no cases have been won by plaintiffs. Courts have rejected claims of educational malpractice for failing to prove the elements of negligence and for reasons of public policy. Under a federal law known as Section 1983, individuals may bring suit against gov­ ernment agencies and their officers and employees for violations of federal constitu­

290

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tional or statutory rights. School districts with policies that violate the constitutional or federal statutory rights of students, parents, or employees are vulnerable to these suits. Individual educators may also be sued and required to pay monetary damages if they personally violate the civil rights of others or, under certain circumstances, if they per­ mit their subordinates to do so. NOTES 1. Spears v. Jefferson Parish Sch. Bd., 646 So. 2d 1104 (La. Ct. App. 1994). 2. Costello v. Mitchell Pub. Sch. Dist. 79, 266 F.3d 916 (8th Cir. 2001); see also Stamper v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Ed., 544 S.E.2d 818 (N.C. Ct. App. 2001). 3. People ex rel. Hogan v. Newton, 56 N.Y.S.2d 779 (City Ct. of White Plains 1945). 4. Rolando v. School Dir. of Dist. No. 125, County of LaSalle, 358 N.E.2d 945 (Ill. App. Ct. 1976). 5. Hogenson v. Williams, 542 S.W.2d 456 (Tex. App. 1976); see also Tinkham v. Kole, 110 N.W.2d 258 (Iowa 1961). 6. Landry v. Ascension Parish Sch. Bd., 415 So. 2d 473 (La. Ct. App. 1982). 7. Thomas v. Bedford, 389 So. 2d 405 (La. Ct. App. 1980). 8. Compare Andreozzi v. Rubano, 141 A.2d 639 (Conn. 1958). 9. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 85 F.3d 1394 (9th Cir. 1996). 10. Frank B. Hall & Co. v. Buck, 678 S.W.2d 612 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984). 11. See Moyer v. Amador Valley Joint Union High Sch. Dist., 275 Cal. Rptr. 494 (Cal. Ct. App. 1990). 12. Stevens v. Tillman, 855 F.2d 394 (7th Cir. 1988). 13. Lester v. Powers, 596 A.2d 65 (Me. 1991). 14. Salek v. Passaic Collegiate Sch., 605 A.2d 276 (N.J. 1992). 15. True v. Ladner, 513 A.2d 257 (Me. 1986). 16. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990). 17. See Baskin v. Rogers, 493 S.E.2d 728 (Ga. App. 1997). 18. Perse: Manale v. New Orleans, 673 F.2d 122 (5th Cir. 1982); Mazart v. State, 441 N.Y.S.2d 600 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. 1981); contra Hayes v. Smith, 832 P.2d 1022 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992); Moricoli v. Schwartz, 361 N.E.2d 74 (Ill. 1977). 19. See Rocci v. Ecole Secondarie Macdonald-Cartier, 755 A.2d 583 (N.J. 2000). 20. Fordv.Jeane, 106 So. 558 (La. 1925); Larivev. Willitt, 315 P.2d 732 (Cal. Ct. App. 1957); Angel v. Levittown Sch. Dist. No. 5, 567 N.Y.S.2d 490 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991). 21. Huston Belt & Terminal Ry. v. Wheery, 548 S. W.2d 743 (Tex. App. 1976), appeal dismissed, 434 U.S. 962 (1977); Gonzalez v. CNA Ins. Co., 717 F. Supp. 1087 (E.D. Pa. 1989). 22. Frankson v. Design Space Int'l, 380N.W.2d 560 (Minn. Ct. App.), rev'din relevant part, 394N.W.2d 140 (Minn. 1986). 23. Lewis v. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y, 389 N.W.2d 876 (Minn. 1986).

24. W. P. KEETON, ED., PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS § 111 (5th ed. 1984). 25. N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964); Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657 (1989). 26. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974); Time, Inc. v. Firestone, 424 U.S. 448 (1976); Curtis Publ'g Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130 (1967); N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). 27. Kapiloff v. Dunn, 343 A.2d 251 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1975). 28. Moss v. Stockard, 580 A.2d 1011 (D.C. 1990); Dec v. Auburn Enlarged Sch. Dist., 672 N.Y.S.2d 591 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998); Nodar v. Galbreath, 462 So. 2d 803 (Fla. 1984); Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Lipscomb, 362 S.E.2d 32 (Va. 1987); Franklin v. Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, Lodge 1108, 159 Cal. Rptr. 131 (Cal. Ct. App. 1979); Milkovich v. News-Herald, 473 N.E.2d 1191 (Ohio 1984); True v. Ladner, 513 A.2d 257 (Me. 1986). 29. Basarich v. Rodeghero, 321 N.E.2d 739 (Ill. App. Ct. 1974); Grayson v. Curtis Publ'g Co., 436 P.2d 756 (Wash. 1967); Elstromv. Indep. Sch. Dist., 533 N.W.2d 51 (Minn. App. 1995); Johnston v. Corin­ thian Television Corp., 583 P.2d 1011 (Okla. 1978). 30. Dun & Bradstreet v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749 (1985). 31. Karnes v. Milo Beauty & Barber Shop Co., 441 N.W.2d 565 (Minn. Ct. App. 1989); Manguso v. Oceanside Unified Sch. Dist., 200 Cal. Rptr. 535 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984).

NOTES 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.

291

Gardner v. Hollifield, 549 P.2d 266 (Idaho 1976). Moss v. Stockard, 580 A.2d 1011 (D.C. 1990). McCone v. New England Tel. & Tel. Co., 471 N.E.2d 47 (Mass. 1984). Morrison v. Mobile County Bd. of Educ., 495 So. 2d 1086 (Ala. 1986). Peters v. Baldwin Union Free Sch. Dist., 320 F.3d 164 (2d. Cir. 2003). Segall v. Piazza, 260 N.Y.S.2d 543 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1965). Hett v. Ploetz, 121 N.W.2d 270 (Wis. 1963); RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 596 (1977). Alex B. Long, Note: Addressing the Cloud over Employee References: A Survey of Recently Enacted State Legislation, 39 WM. & MARY L. REV. 177 (1997). 40. Santavicca v. City of Yonkers, 518 N.Y.S.2d 29 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). 41. Weissman v. Mogol, 462 N.Y.S.2d 383 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1983). 42. Desselle v. Guillory, 407 So. 2d 79 (La. Ct. App. 1981). 43. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS, § 611 (1977); Warren v. Pulitzer Publ'g Co., 78 S.W.2d404 (Mo. 1934) (church proceeding). 44. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS §§ 613(l)(h), 619(2) (1977). 45. See Hett v. Ploetz, 121 N.W.2d 270 (Wis. 1963). 46. Cohen v. Wales, 518 N.Y.S.2d 633 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). 47. W.P. KEETON, ED., PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS, Chap. 18 (5th ed. 1984). 48. Randi W. v. Muroc Joint Unified Sch. Dist., 929 P.2d 582 (Cal. 1997). 49. Trout v. Umatilla County Sch. Dist., 712 P.2d 814 (Or. 1985). 50. K-Mart Corp. v. Trotti, 677 S.W.2d 632 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984). 51. Twigg v. Hercules Corp., 406 S.E.2d 52 (W. Va. 1990). 52. Bratt v. Int'l Bus. Mach. Corp., 467 N.E.2d 126 (Mass. 1984). 53. See, e.g., Van Allen v. McCleary, 211 N.Y.S.2d 501 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1961). 54. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h; 34 C.F.R. § 99.1-99.8. 55. Owasso Indep. Sch. Dist. No. I-011 v. Falvo, 534 U.S. 426 (2002). 56. Matter of Unido R., 441 N.Y.S.2d 325 (N.Y. Fam. Ct. 1981). 57. Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273 (2002). 58. Storch v. Silverman, 186 Cal. App. 2d 671 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986). 59. N.Y. Soc. SERV. LAW § 419. 60. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 282 (1965). 61. But see Albers v. Cmty. Consol. #204 Sch., 508 N.E.2d 1252 (Ill. App. Ct. 1987). 62. Cioffi v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 278 N.YS.2d 249 (N.Y. App. Div. 1967). 63. Albers v. Cmty. Consol. #204 Sch., 508 N.E.2d 1252 (Ill. App. Ct. 1987). 64. Atkinson v. DeBraber, 446 N.W.2d 637 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989). 65. Norris v. American Casualty Co., 178 So. 2d 662 (La. 1965). 66. Cerny v. Cedar Bluffs Junior/Senior Pub. Sch., 628 N.W.2d 697 (Neb. 2001). 67. Greene v. City of N.Y, 566N.Y.S.2d 875 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991); Gammon v. Edwardsville Cmty. Unit Sch., 403 N.E.2d 43 (Ill. App. Ct. 1980); compare Logan v. City of N.Y, 543 N.Y.S.2d 661 (N.Y. App. Div. 1989); Dickerson v. N.Y. City, 258 A.D.2d 433 (N.Y. 1999). 68. Lehmuth v. Long Beach Unified Sch. Dist., 348 P.2d 887 (Cal. 1960). 69. Bennett v.Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 226 N.Y.S.2d 593 (N.Y. App. Div. 1962), aff'd, 196 N.E.2d268 (N.Y. 1963);Palellav. Ulmer,518N.YS.2d91 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1987); Cobbv. Fox,317N.W.2d583 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982). 70. Brownell v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., 5 Cal. Rptr. 2d 756 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992). 71. Peterson v. Doe, 647 So. 2d 1288 (La. Ct. App. 1994). 72. Hoyem v. Manhattan Beach Sch. Dist., 585 P.2d 851 (Cal. 1978). 73. Martin v. Twin Falls Sch. Dist. #411, 59 P.3d 317 (Idaho 2002); Rife v. Long, 908 P.2d 143 (Idaho 1996). 74. Toure v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 512 N.Y.S.2d 150 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). 75. Hoff v. Vacaville Unified Sch. Dist., 68 Cal. Rptr. 2d 920 (Ct. App. 1997). 76. Titus v. Lindberg, 228 A.2d 65 (N.J. 1967); Barnes v. Bott, 571 So. 2d 183 (La. Ct. App. 1990). 77. Larson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 314, 289 N.W.2d 112 (Minn. 1979). 78. Krakower v. City of N.Y, 629 N.Y.S.2d 435 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1995). 79. Ferraro v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 212 N.Y.S.2d 615 (N.Y App. Div. 1961), aff'd, 221 N.Y.S.2d 279 (N.Y. App. Div. 1961). 80. Scionti v. Bd. of Educ. of Middle County Cent. Sch. Dist., 638 N. Y.S.2d 748 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996).

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81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98.

Smith v. Archbishop of St. Louis, 632 S.W.2d 516 (Mo. Ct. App. 1982). Gonzalez v. Madder, 241 N.Y.S.2d 254 (N.Y. App. Div. 1963). District of Columbia v. Doe, 524 A.2d 30 (D.C. 1987). Lauricella v. Bd. of Educ. of Buffalo, 381 N.Y.S.2d 566 (N.Y. App. Div. 1976). Dailey v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., 470 P.2d 360 (Cal. 1970) (en bane). Ward v. Newfield Cent. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 412 N.Y.S.2d 57 (N.Y. App. Div. 1978). Keesee v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 235 N.Y.S.2d 300 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1962). Roberts v. Robertson County Bd. of Educ., 692 S.W.2d 863 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1985). Kush v. Buffalo, 449 N.E.2d 725 (N.Y. 1983). Morris v. Douglas County Sch. Dist. No. 9, 403 P.2d 775 (Or. 1965) (en banc). Mirand v. City of N.Y, 637 N.E.2d 263 (N.Y. 1994). Bell v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y, 687 N.E.2d 1325 (N.Y. 1997). Eisel v. Bd. of Educ. of Montgomery County, 597 A.2d 447 (Md. 1991). Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R. Co., 162 N.E. 99 (N.Y. 1928). Palella v. Ulmer, 518 N.YS.2d 91 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1987). Pagan v. Summers, 498 P.2d 1227 (Wyo. 1972). Izard v. Hickory City Sch. Bd. of Educ., 315 S.E.2d 756 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984). Wilhelmv. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y.,227N.YS.2d791 (N.Y. App. Div. 1962); Hutchinson v. Toews, 476 P.2d 811 (Or. Ct. App. 1970). 99. Marcantel v. Allen Parish Sch. Bd., 490 So. 2d 1162 (La. Ct. App. 1986). 100. See Benitez v. N.Y. City Bd. of Educ., 541 N.E.2d 29 (N.Y. App. 1989). 101. Whittington v. Sowela Technical Inst., 438 So. 2d 236 (La. Ct. App. 1983). 102. Wagenblast v. Odessa Sch. Dist. No. 105-157-166J, 758 P.2d 968 (Wash. 1988) (en banc). 103. Doyle v. Bowdoin Coll., 403 A.2d 1206 (Me. 1979). 104. Fedor v. Mauwehu Council, Boy Scouts of Am., 143 A.2d 466 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1958). 105. See Hohe v. San Diego Unified Sch. Dist., 274 Cal. Rptr. 647 (Cal. Ct. App. 1990). 106. Ponticas v. K.M.S. Inv., 331 N.W.2d 907 (Minn. 1983); see also DiCosala v. Key, 450 A.2d 508 (NJ. 1982); Garcia v. Duffy, 492 So. 2d 435 (Fla. Ct. App. 1986). 107. Medlin v. Bass, 398 S.E.2d 460 (N.C. 1990). 108. CAL. EDUC. CODE §§ 45125, 33129. 109. CAL. EDUC. CODE §44830.1. 110. See, e.g., CONN. GEN. STAT. § 31-511.

111. ILL. REV. STAT. ANN., ch. 68, § 2-103.

112. N.Y. HUMAN RIGHTS LAW § 296(15). 113. See, Green v. Mo. Pac. R.R. Co.,523 F.2d 1290 (8th Cir. 1975). 114. Alma W. v. Oakland Unified Sch. Dist., 176 Cal. Rptr. 287 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981). 115. Godar v. Edwards, 588 N.W.2d 701 (Iowa 1999); John R. V. Oakland Unified Sch. Dist., 769 P.2d 948 (Cal. 1989). 116. Lynch v. Bd. of Educ. of Collinsville Cmty., 412 N.E.2d 447 (Ill. 1980). 117. W.P.KEETON,ED.,PrOSSERANDKEETONONTORTS§ 123(5thed. 1984); RESTATEMENT (SECOND)

OF TORTS § 316 (1977). 118. Nieuwendorp v. Am. Family Ins. Co., 529 N.W.2d 594 (Wis. 1995). 119. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 339 (1965). 120. Ambrose v. Buhl Joint Sch. Dist., 887 P.2d 1088 (Idaho App. 1994). 121. Barnhizer v. Paradise Valley Unified Sch. Dist. 69,599 P.2d 209 (Ariz. 1979) (en bane); but see Stahl v. Cocalico Sch. Dist., 534 A.2d 1141 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1987). 122. Mclntosh v. Omaha Pub. Sch., 544 N.W.2d 502 (Neb. 1996). 123. Ward v. K-Mart Corp., 554 N.E.2d 223 (Ill. 1990). 124. Sheppard v. Midway R-l Sch., 904 S.W.2d 257 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995). 125. Compare Maddox v. City of N.Y, 487 N.E.2d 553 (N.Y. 1985). 126. Rankey v. Arlington Bd. of Educ., 603 N.E.2d 1151 (Ohio Ct. App. 1992); contra Mclntosh v. Omaha Pub. Sch., 544 N.W.2d 502 (Neb. 1996). 127. GregoryG. Sarno, Annotation, Liability for Injuries in Connection With Ice or Snow on Nonresiden­ tial Premises, 95 A.L.R.3d 1 (1979 & Supp.); Michael J. Polelle, Is the Natural Accumulation Rule All Wet? 26 LOYOLA U. CHI. L. REV. 631, 647-648 (1995).

NOTES

293

128. Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986, 15 U.S.C.A. § 2641-2656; 20 U.S.C. §§ 4014, 4021-22; 40 C.F.R. § 763; see also Asbestos School Hazard Detection & Control Act of 1980, 20 U.S.C. § 3601-3611. 129. Donohue v. Copiague Union Free Sch. Dist., 391 N.E.2d 1352 (N.Y. 1979); Peter W. v. San Fran­ cisco Unified Sch. Dist, 131 Cal. Rptr. 854 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976). 130. Snow v. State, 475 N.E.2d 454 (N.Y. 1984); Doe v. Bd. of Educ. of Montgomery County, 453 A.2d 814 (Md. 1982); Hoffman v. Bd. of Educ. of N.Y., 400 N.E.2d 317 (N.Y. 1979); B.M. v. State, 649 P.2d 425 (Mont. 1982); Rick v. Ky. Day, Inc., 793 S.W.2d 832 (Ky. App. 1990). 131. Hunterv.Bd. of Educ. of Montgomery County, 425 A.2d 681 (Md. Ct. App. 1981), off'd inpart and rev'din part on other grounds, 439 A.2d 582 (Md. Ct. App. 1982). 132. Sain v. Cedar Rapids Cmty. Sch. Dist., 626 N.W. 2d 115 (Iowa 2001). 133. Lostumbo v. Bd. of Educ. of Norwalk, 418 A.2d 949 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1980). 134. See Stahl v. Cocalico Sch. Dist., 534 A.2d 1141 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1987). 135. Ayala v. Philadelphia Bd. of Pub. Educ., 305 A.2d 877 (Pa. 1973). 136. Holloway v. Dougherty County Sch. Sys., 277 S.E.2d 251 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981). 137. Hennessy v. Webb, 264 S.E.2d 878 (Ga. 1980). 138. Killen v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 706, 547 N.W.2d 113 (Minn. App. 1996). 139. Larson v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 314, 289 N.W.2d 112 (Minn. 1979). 140. Mosley v. Portland Sch. Dist. No. IJ, 843 P.2d415 (Or. 1992); Coyle v. Harper, 622 So. 2d 302 (Ala. 1993). 141. See, e.g., Kimpton School Dist. of New Lisbon, 405 N.W.2d 740 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987). 142. Burns v. Bd. of Educ. of Stamford, 638 A.2d 1 (Conn. 1994). 143. Plumeau v. Yamhill County Sch. Dist., 907 F. Supp. 1423 (D. Or. 1995). 144. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 145. Burnaman v. Bay City Indep. Sch. Dist., 445 F. Supp. 927 (S.D. Tex. 1978). 146. Plumeau v. Yamhill County Sch. Dist., 907 F. Supp. 1423 (D. Or. 1995). 147. Doev. Taylor Indep. Sch. Dist., 15 F.3d443 (5th Cir. 1994); Black v. Ind. Area Sch. Dist., 985 F.2d 707 (3d Cir. 1993); Stoneking v. Bradford Area Sch. Dist., 882 F.2d 720 (3d Cir. 1989). 148. Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977). 149. Neal ex rel. Neal v. Fulton County Bd of Educ., 229 F.3d 1069 (llth Cir. 2000). 150. Gonzales v.Passino, 222 F. Supp. 2d 1277 (D.N.M. 2002); see also Gottlieb ex rel. Calabria v.Laural Highlands Sch. Dist., 272 F.3d 168 (3d Cir. 2001); Johnson v. Newburgh Enlarged Sch. Dist., 239 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2001); P.B. v. Koch, 96 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1996). 151. Nix v. Franklin County Sch. Dist, 311 F.3d 1373 (llth Cir. 2002). 152. Costello v. Mitchell Pub. Sch. Dist. 79, 266 F.3d 916 (8th Cir. 2001). 153. Armijo v. Wagon Mound Pub. Schs., 159 F.3d 1253 (10th Cir. 1998). 154. Seamonsv. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir. 1996); Lillardv. Shelby County Bd. ofEduc., 76F.3d716 (6th Cir. 1996); Williams v. School Dist. of Bethlehem, 998 F.2d 168 (3d Cir. 1993). 155. Owasso Indep. Sch. Dist. No. I-011 v. Falvo, 534 U.S. 426 (2002). 156. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep't of Social Serv., 489 U.S. 189 (1989). 157. Mentavlos v. Anderson, 249 F.3d 301 (4th Cir. 2001). 158. Doe v. Hillsboro Indep. Sch. Dist, 81 F.3d 1395 (5th Cir. 1996); compare Doe v. Rains County Indep. Sch. Dist, 66 F.3d 1402 (5th Cir. 1995); but see Doev. Hillsboro Indep. Sch. Dist., 81 F.3d 1395 (5th Cir. 1966) (Garza J., dissenting); Doe v. Taylor Indep. Sch. Dist., 15 F.3d 443 (5th Cir. 1994) (Garwood J., dissenting). 159. Taylor v. Brentwood Union Free Sch. Dist., 143 F.3d 679 (2d Cir. 1998). 160. Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308 (1975); Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974). 161. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982). 162. Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635 (1980). 163. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982). 164. DesRoches v. Caprio, 974 F. Supp. 542 (E.D. Va. 1997). 165. Jenkins v. Talladega City Bd. of Educ., 95 F.3d 1036 (11th Cir. 1996). 166. 817 F.2d 303 (5th Cir. 1978). 167. 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). 168. Larson v. Miller, 55 F.3d 1343 (8th Cir. 1995).

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169. 42 U.S.C. § 1986. 170. Monell v. Dep't of Social Serv., 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1975). 171. Oona R.-S. v. Santa Rosa City Sch., 890 F. Supp. 1452 (N.D. Cal. 1995), aff'd, 122 F.3d 1207 (9th Cir. 1997). 172. Larson v. Miller, 55 F.3d 1343 (8th Cir. 1995); Doe v. Taylor Indep. Sch. Dist., 15 F.3d 443 (5th Cir. 1994); Gates v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 449,996 F.2d 1035 (10th Cir. 1993); Stoneking v. Bradford Area Sch. Dist., 882 F.2d 720 (3d Cir. 1989). 173. Hegarty v. Somerset County, 53 F.3d 1367 (1st Cir. 1995). 174. Black v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 72 (2d Cir. 1996). 175. KitKinports, The Buck Does Not Stop Here: Supervisory Liability in Section 1983 Cases, 1997 U.

ILL. L. REV. 147 (1997). 176. 436 U.S. 658(1978). 177. 445 U.S. 622 (1980). 178. Gillette v. Delmore, 979 F.2d 1342 (9th Cir. 1992); see also Jett v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 491 U.S. 701 (1989); St. Louis v.Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112 (1988);Pembaurv. Cincinnati, 475 U.S.469(1986). 179. Doe v. Estes, 926 F. Supp. 979 (D. Nev. 1996). 180. Stoneking v. Bradford Area Sch. Dist., 882 F.2d 720 (3d Cir. 1989). 181. Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274 (1998). 182. Doe v. Hillsboro Indep. Sch. Dist., 81 F.3d 1395 (5th Cir. 1996); Benavides v. County of Wilson, 95 5 F.2d 968 (5th Cir. 1992). 183. City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989); Doe v. Estes, 926 F. Supp. 979 (D. Nev. 1996). 184. Kennedy v. Dexter Consol. Sch., 955 P.2d 693 (N.M. App. 1998). 185. Johnson v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 38 F.3d 198 (5th Cir. 1994); Leffall v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 28 F.3d 521 (5th Cir. 1994). 186. D.R. v. Middle Bucks Area Vocational Technical Sch., 972 F.2d 1364 (3d Cir. 1992) (en banc). 187. Plumeau v. Yamhill County Sch. Dist., 907 F. Supp. 1423 (D. Or. 1995). 188. Compare Cornelius v. Town of Highland Lake, 880 F.2d 348 (11th Cir. 1989). 189. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep't of Social Serv., 489 U.S. 189 (1989); Griffith v. Johnson, 899 F. 2d 1427 (5th Cir. 1990); compare Walton v. Alexander, 44 F.3d 1297 (5th Cir. 1995). 190. Sargi v. Kent City Bd. of Educ., 70 F.3d 907 (6th Cir. 1995) (citing supporting cases from the 3d, 7th, and 10th Circuits). 191. Carey v.Piphus, 435 U.S. 247 (1978); Memphis Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299 (1986). 192. City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U.S. 247 (1981).

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA [Parts of the Constitution pertinent to education law.]. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ARTICLE I. SECTION 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. SECTION 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; ... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Of­ ficer thereof. SECTION 10. No State shall pass any ... Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts ... ARTICLE II. SECTION 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. ARTICLE III. SECTION 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such infe­ rior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and infe­ rior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. SECTION 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;—between a State and Citizens of another State;—between Citizens of different States;—between Citi­ zens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the Supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regula­ tions as the Congress shall make. ARTICLE VI. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION. AMENDMENT I [1791]. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to peti­ tion the Government for a redress of grievances.

295

296

THE CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT IV [1791].

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. AMENDMENT V[1791]. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or in­ dictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual ser­ vice in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be de­ prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. AMENDMENT VI [1791]. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the wit­ nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. AMENDMENT VII [1791]. In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law. AMENDMENT VIII [1791]. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments in­ flicted. AMENDMENT IX [1791]. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others re­ tained by the people. AMENDMENT X [1791]. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are re­ served to the States respectively, or to the people. AMENDMENT XI [1798]. The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, com­ menced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. AMENDMENT XIV [1868]. SECTION 1. All persons bora or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. AMENDMENT XV [1870]. SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

THE CONSTITUTION

297 AMENDMENT XIX [1920].

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XXVI [1971]. SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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TABLE OF CASES

Cases cited in the notes are listed by page number followed by note number. Numbers in italics indicate the page where the complete note is given.

A Abasiekong v. City of Shelby, 191 (n. 118), 208 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 33 (n. 68), 46,241 (n. 29), 254 Abrahamson v. Hershman, 155 (n. 60, 65), 167 Abrams v. Johnson, 191 (n. 115), 208 Acting Superintendent of Schools of Liverpool Central School District v. United Liver­ pool Faculty Ass'n, 246 (n. 60, 62), 255 Adams v. Florida Power Corp., 204 (n. 208), 211 Adams v. State, 213 (n. 5), 229 Adams v. State Professional Practices Council, 218 (n. 55), 230 Adler v. Board of Education of New York, 55 (n. 28), 59 (n. 47), 73, 170 (n. 1), 206 Adler v. Duval County School Board, 24 (n. 32), 46 Adtlet v. Richmond School District, 214 (n. 13), 229 Agostini v. Felton, 156 (n. 71), 167 Alabama & Coushatta Tribes v. Big Sandy Inde­ pendent School District, 78 (n. 11), 99 Alamo Heights Independent School District v. State Board of Education, 153 (n. 50), 155 (n. 64), 166,167 Albermarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 194 (n. 132, 134), 209

Albers v. Community Consolidated #204 School, 270 (n. 61,63), 293 Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 185 (n. 79), 208 Alex v. Allen, 80 (n. 31), 99, 93 (n. 115), 101 Alexander v. Choate, 127 (n. 73), 137 Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Educa­ tion, 113 (n. 29), 136 Alexander v. Phillips, 19 (n. 7), 45 Alexander v. Sandoval, 127 (n. 76), 737, 162 (n. 91,93), 167 Alexopulos v. San Francisco Unified School Dis­ trict, 160 (n. 83), 167 Alfonso v. Fernandez, 31 (n. 62), 46 Allen v. Board of Education, 172 (n. 13), 206 Alma W. v. Oakland Unified School District, 279 (n. 114), 295 Altman v. Bedford Central School District, 30 (n. 57), 46 Ambach v. Norwick, 171 (n. 5), 206, 212 (n. 1), 229 Ambrose v. Buhl Joint School District, 281 (n. 120), 295 American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. Black Horse Pike Region 1 Board of Education, 24 (n. 31), 46 American Federation of State, County & Munici­ pal Employees v. Woodward, 237 (n. 12), 253

299

300 American Library Ass'n, United States v., 36 (n. 83), 47 Anable v. Ford, 83 (n. 53), 93 (n. 111), 100, 101 Anders ex rel. Anders v. Fort Wayne Community Schools, 87 (n. 79), 100 Anderson v. Evans, 175 (n. 23), 206 Anderson v. University Health Center, 195 (n. 149), 209 Anderson v. Mexico Academy and Central School, 71 (n. 89), 74 Andreozzi v. Rubano, 261 (n. 8), 292 Andrews v. Drew Municipal Separate School District, 182 (n. 63), 207, 219 (n. 65), 237 Angel v. Levittown School District No. 5, 262 (n. 20), 292 Anker, Doe v., 225 (n. 100), 231 Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook, 199 (n. 180), 209 Aplington Community School District v. Iowa Public Employment Relations Board, 244 (n. 42), 254 Appeal of Santee, 214 (n. 13), 229 Arizona Governing Committee for Tax Deferred Annuity & Deferred Compensation Plans v. Norris, 194 (n. 139), 209 Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing De­ velopment Corp., 110 (n. 18, 20), 136 Armijo v. Wagon Mound Public Schools, 286 (n. 153), 296 Arrowhead United Teachers Organization v. Wis­ consin Employment Relations Com­ mission, 235 (n. 6), 253 Asadoorian v. Warwick School Committee, 215 (n. 28), 230 Atkinson v. DeBraber, 271 (n. 64), 293 Aubrey v. School Board of Lafayette Parish, 187 (n. 95), 205 Avery v. Homewood City Board of Education, 182 (n. 63), 207, 219 (n. 65), 237 Ayala v. Philadelphia Board of Public Education, 284 (n. 135), 295 Ayer v. Board of Education of Central School District No. 1,248 (n. 69), 255

B B. L. v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, 95 (n. 126), 101 Baggett v. Bullitt, 171 (n. 3), 206 Baird ex rel. Baird v. Rose, 143 (n. 15), 765 Baker v. Board of Education of West Irondequoit, 246 (n. 58), 254 Baltimore Teachers Union v. Mayor of Balti­ more, 252 (n. 94), 255

TABLE OF CASES

Banks v. Board of Public Instruction of Dade County, 33 (n. 65), 46 Bannister v. Paradis, 79 (n. 19), 99 Barber v. Colorado Independent School District, 78 (n. 15), 99 Barnes v. Bott, 271 (n. 76), 294 Barnes v. Gorman, 204 (n. 200), 209 Barnhizer v. Paradise Valley Unified School Dis­ trict 69, 281 (n. 121), 295 Baron v. Mackreth, 225 (n. 105), 232 Basarich v. Rodeghero, 263 (n. 29), 293 Baskin v. Rogers, 262 (n. 17), 292 Battle v. Pennsylvania, 155 (n. 60), 767 Bauchman v. West High School, 27 (n. 46), 46 Baynard v. Malone, 132 (n. 107), 132 (n. 111), 735 Becker v. Churchville-Chili Central School, 196 (n. 156), 209 Beilan v. Board of Education, 185 (n. 80), 205 Beitzell v. Jeffery, 223 (n. 87), 237 Belk v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Educa­ tion, 117 (n. 42), 736 Bell v. Board of Education of New York, 273 (n. 92), 294 Bell v. Marseilles Elementary School, 88 (n. 84), 700 Bell v. U-32 Board of Education, 35 (n. 78), 47 Bellnier v. Lund, 84 (n. 64), 86 (n. 75), 700 Beloit Education Ass'n v. Wisconsin Employ­ ment Relations Commission, 244 (n. 41), 254 Benavides v. County of Wilson, 290 (n. 182), 296 Benitez v. New York City Board of Education, 276 (n. 100), 294 Bennet v. Board of Education of New York, 271 (n. 69), 294 Benton v. Board of Education of Winnebago, 224 (n. 90), 237 Bercovitch v. Baldwin School, Inc., 145 (n. 26), 766 Berger v. Rennselaer Central School Corp., 25 (n. 39), 46 Bernstein v. Menard, 91 (n. 95), 707 Bertolini v. Whitehall City School District Board of Education, 219 (n. 62), 230 Bessler v. Board of Education of Chartered School District, 215 (n. 24), 229 Bester v. Tuscaloosa City Board of Education, 164(n. 104), 168 Bethel Park School District v. Krall, 217 (n. 43), 219 (n. 68), 230, 237 Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 58 (n. 37), 62 (n. 56), 73, 74 Bethlehem Township Board of Education v. Bethlehem Township Education Ass'n, 244 (n. 48), 254

TABLE OF CASES

Bibby v. Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 188 (n. 103), 208 Bicknell v. Vergennes Union High School Board of Directors, 36 (n. 81), 47 Big Sandy School District No. 700-J v. Carroll, 249 (n. 72), 255 Billings v. Madison Metropolitan School District, 117(n. 44), 136 Birdwell v. Hazelwood School District, 179 (n. 43), 207

Bishop v. Colaw, 50 (n. 5), 72, 78 (n. 9), 99 Bitting v. Lee, 97 (n. 140), 102 Bivens v. Albuquerque Public Schools, 50 (n. 6), 72 Black v. Coughlin, 289 (n. 174), 296 Black v. Indiana Area School District, 286 (n. 147), 295 Blackmon ex rel. Blackmon v. Springfield R-XII School District, 147 (n. 34), 166 Board of Airport Commissioners of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, Inc., 80 (n. 32), 99 Board of Directors of Lawton-Bronson v. Davies, 218 (n. 52), 230 Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Ro­ tary Club of Duarte, 69 (n. 80), 74 Board of Directors of Sioux City v. Mroz, 216 (n. 32), 230 Board of Directors of the Independent School District of Waterloo v. Green, 79 (n. 21), 99 Board of Education Cattaraugus Central School v. Cattaraugus Teachers' Ass'n, 246 (n. 55), 254 Board of Education for School District of Phila­ delphia, United States v., 197 (n. 166), 209 Board of Education of Asbury Park v. Asbury Park Education Ass'n, 214 (n. 16), 229, 239 (n. 23), 254 Board of Education of Clarke County v. Oliver, 224 (n. 92), 231 Board of Education of Community Unit School District No. 201-U v. Crete-Monee Ed­ ucation Ass'n, 243 (n. 35), 254 Board of Education of District of Columbia v. Wilson, 249 (n. 72), 251 (n. 82), 255 Board of Education of East Windsor Regional School District v. Diamond, 151 (n. 40), 166 Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 149 (n. 35), 166 Board of Education of Hopkin County v. Wood, 219 (n. 71), 237 Board of Education of Huntington v. Associated Teachers, 246 (n. 53, 56), 254

301 Board of Education of Independent School Dis­ trict No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 88 (n. 87), 700 Board of Education of Martins Ferry City School District v. Ohio Education Ass'n, 238 (n. 19), 253 Board of Education of Millbrook Central School District v. Ambach, 79 (n. 24), 99 Board of Education of Montgomery County, Doe v.,283(n. 130), 295 Board of Education of North Bergen v. North Bergen Federation of Teachers, Local 1060, 243 (n. 37), 254 Board of Education of Oak Park & River Forest High School District 200, Doe v., 157 (n. 79), 167 Board of Education of Oklahoma City Schools v. Dowell, 116(n. 39), 736 Board of Education of Philadelphia v. Kushner, 216 (n. 32), 230 Board of Education of Philadelphia v. Philadel­ phia Federation of Teachers Local No. 3, 246 (n. 60), 255 Board of Education of School District of New York v. Harris, 127 (n. 77), 737 Board of Education of South Point, State v., 215 (n. 25), 230 Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 42 (n. 94), Board of Education of v. , see op­ posing party Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 222 (n. 84), 237 Board of School Directors of Milwaukee, State v., 220 (n. 73), 237 Board of Trustees of State University of New Yorkv. Fox, 51 (n. 13), 73 Boiling v. Sharpe, 108 (n. 14), 735 Bomhoff v. White, 223 (n. 86), 237 Boring v. Buncomb County Board of Education, 178 (n. 33), 207 Borkoff v. Van Wert City Board of Education, 50 (n. 8), 55 (n. 27), 66 (n. 70), 72, 73, 74 Boston Teachers Union, Local 66 v. School Committee of Boston, 243 (n. 38), 254 Bott v. Board of Education, Deposit Central School District, 95 (n. 125), 707 Bottineau Public School District No. 1 v. Currie, 251(n. 82), 255 Bovino v. Board of School Directors of the Indiana Area School District, 220 (n. 72), 237 Bowbells Public School Districts No. 14 v. Walker, 250 (n. 79), 255 Bowman v. Bethel-Tate Board of Education, 35 (n. 78), 47

302 Boynton v. Casey, 82 (n. 38), 99 Bradford Central School District v. Ambach, 213 (n. 2), 229 Bradkin v. Leverton, 251 (n. 80), 255 Brandenburg v. Ohio, 51 (n. 16), 73 Brannen v. Kings Local School District Board of Education, 186 (n. 88), 208 Brantely v. Surles, 183 (n. 71), 207 Branti v. Finkel, 171 (n. 7), 172 (n. 11), 206 Bratt v. International Business Machines Corp., 267 (n. 52), 293 Breen v. Runkel, 23 (n. 25), 45, 179 (n. 42), 207 Brenden v. Independent School District 742, 93 (n. 113), 101, 126 (n. 65), 737 Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 80 (n. 32), 99 Brock v. Georgia Southwestern College, 194 (n. 138), 209 Brocknell v. Norton, 176 (n. 25), 206 Bronx Household v. Community School District No. 10, 70 (n. 85), 74 Brookhart v. Illinois State Board of Education, 144(n. 24), 166 Brookline School Committee, Doe v., 156 (n. 75), 167 Broussard v. School Board of Norfolk, 66 (n. 62), 74 Brown v. Board of Education (Brown I), 104 (n. 1), 108 (n. 13), 735 Brown v. Board of Education (Brown II), 112 (n. 25), 136 Brown v. Caldwell School District No. 132, 251 (n. 83), 255 Brown v. Gilmore, 25 (n. 35), 46 Brown v. Hot, Sexy & Safer Productions, Inc., 31 (n. 61), 46 Brown v. Pena, 199 (n. 175), 209 Brown v. Unified School District No. 501, 117 (n. 41), 136 Brown v. Woodland Joint Unified School Dis­ trict, 29 (n. 56), 46 Brownell v. Los Angeles Unified School District, 271(n. 69), 294 Bucha v. Illinois High School Ass'n, 126 (n. 66), 737 Bump v. Union High School District No. 3, 252 (n. 93), 255 Burch v. Barker, 61 (n. 54), 73 Burke County Board of Education v. Denton, 151 (n. 40), 166 Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 196 (n. 159), 270 Burlington School Committee of Burlington v. Department of Education of Massachu­ setts, 156 (n. 68), 767 Burnaman v. Bay City Independent School Dis­ trict, 286 (n. 145), 295

TABLE OF CASES

Burnham v. West, 86 (n. 74), 700 Burns v. Board of Education of Stamford, 285 (n. 142), 295 Burr v. Ambach, 160 (n. 84), 767 Burwell v. Pekin Community High School Dis­ trict 303, 130 (n. 96), 737 Butler v. Evans, 153 (n. 49), 767

c C. B. v. Driscoll, 91 (n. 93), 700 C. F. S. v. Mahan, 218 (n. 56), 230 C.H. ex rel. Z.H. v. Oliva, 66 (n. 65), 74 Calderon, Board of Education v., 219 (n. 64), 237 Cales v. Howell Public Schools, 87 (n. 78), 700 Calhoun v. Cook, 117 (n. 43), 736 California Teachers' Ass'n v. Governing Board of Mariposa County Unified School District, 163 (n. 97, 99), 765, 251 (n. 84), 255 Calway v. Williamson, 95 (n. 126), 707, 163 (n. 99), 765 Cammack v. Wahihee, 26 (n. 42), 46 Campbell v. Board of Education of New Milford, 91 (n. 96),97(n. 139), 707, 702 Campbell v. Kansas State University, 196 (n. 157), 209 Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board, 50 (n. 7), 62 (n. 55), 72, 74 Candelori v. Board of Education of New Britain, 214 (n. 20), 229 Cannon v. University of Chicago, 127 (n. 78, 83), 737 Capitol Square Review Board v. Pinette, 26 (n. 44), 46 Carangelo v. Ambach, 217 (n. 47), 230 Carey v. Piphus, 290 (n. 191), 296 Carolene Products Co., United States v., 106 (n. 7), 735 Carr v. Allison Gas Turbine Division, 197 (n. 161), 209 Carrasco v. Lenox Hill Hospital, 195 (n. 146), 209 Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District v. Knight, 79 (n. 20), 99 Gary v. Board of Education of Adams-Arapahoe School District 28-J, 177 (n. 29), 206 Cason v. Cook, 86 (n. 67), 700 Castaneda v. Pickard, 162 (n. 94), 167 Castiglione v. Johns Hopkins Hospital, 251 (n. 92), 255 Castle v. Colonial School District, 171 (n.10), 206 Castorina ex rel. Rewt v. Madison County School Board, 56 (n. 31), 73 Cathe v. Doddridge County Board of Education, 95 (n. 129), 702

TABLE OF CASES

Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Gar­ ret F., 152 (n. 45), 166 Cefalu v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, 156(n. 68), 167 Ceniceros v. Board of Trustee of San Diego Unified School District, 43 (n. 97), 47 Centennial School District v. Department of Edu­ cation, 164 (n. 106), 168 Central City Education Ass'n v. Illinois Educa­ tion Labor Relations Board, 244 (n. 44), 254 Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 51 (n. 13), 73 Cerny v. Cedar Bluffs Junior/Senior Public School, 270 (n. 66), 293 Chalifoux v. New Caney Independent School District, 55 (n. 23), 57 (n. 33), 73 Chalk v. United States District Court & Orange County Superintendent of Schools, 202 (n. 192), 209 Chambers v. Board of Education of Lisbon Cen­ tral School District, 217 (n. 38), 230 Chandler v. Lamar County Board of Education, 252 (n. 95), 256 Chandler v. McMinnville School District, 67 (n. 61), 74 Chaplinksy v. New Hampshire, 51 (n. 10), 58 (n. 40), 72, 73 Charbonneau, United States v., 186 (n. 84), 208 Chee-Craw Teachers' Ass'n v. Unified School District No. 247, Crawford County, 244 (n. 47), 254 Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Echazabal, 201 (n. 188), 209 Chicago Board of Education v. Payne, 218 (n. 55), 230 Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson, 241 (n. 31), 254 Childers v. Independent School District No. 1, 171(n. 8), 206 Cioffi v. Board of Education of New York, 270 (n. 62), 293 Cipriano v. Board of Education of North Tonawanda, 205 (n. 212), 211 City of Biddeford v. Biddeford Teachers' Ass'n, 236 (n. 10), 253 City of Canton v. Harris, 290 (n. 183), 296 City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 140 (n. 7), 165 City of New York v. DeLury, 238 (n. 20), 253 City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 291 (n. 192), 296 Claiborne County v. Doe, 130 (n. 93), 132 (n. 106), 737, 138 Claiborne v. Beebe School District, 79 (n. 27), 99

303 Clark County School District v. Breeden, 196 (n. 155), 209 Clark v. Arizona Interscholastic Ass'n, 126 (n. 67), 737 Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, 50 (n. 3), 52 (n. 22), 72 Clarke v. Board of Education of Omaha, 220 (n. 72), 237 Clayton v. Place, 28 (n. 50), 46 Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 226 (n. 114), 232 Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 223 (n. 88), 237 Clevenger v. Oak Ridge School Board, 151 (n. 43), 155 (n. 63), 167 Clever v. Cherry Hill Township Board of Educa­ tion, 25 (n. 37), 46 Cliff v. Board of School Commissioners of India­ napolis, 175 (n. 21), 205 Clovis Unified School District v. California Of­ fice of Administrative Hearings, 155 (n. 59), 767 Clyde K. v. Puyallup School, 160 (n. 81), 167 Coalition to Save Our Children v. Board of Edu­ cation, 117 (n. 43), 136 Cobbv.Fox,271(n. 69), 294 Cochran v. Chidester School District, 225 (n. 100), 237 Cochran v. District of Columbia, 157 (n. 77), 767 Cockrel v. Shelby County School District, 178 (n. 38), 207 Coffman v. Kuehler, 92 (n. 102), 707 Cohen v. California, 51 (n. 14), 73 Cohen v. Lift, 196 (n. 155), 209 Cohen v. Wales, 266 (n. 47), 2P3 Cole v. Newton Special Municipal Separate School District, 92 (n. 99), 101 Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, 23 (n. 29), 45, 59 (n. 48), 73 Cole v. Richardson, 171 (n. 4), 206 Coleman v. Caddo Parish School Board, 20 (n. 15), 45 Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange Unified School Dis­ trict, 47 (n. 96), 47 Collins v. Baptist Memorial Geriatric Center, 196 (n. 157),20P Collins v. Chandler Unified School District, 23 (n. 24), 45 Collins v. Faith School District No. 46-2, 216 (n. 35), 230 Columbus Board of Education v. Penick, 111 (n. 23), 114 (n. 31), 116 (n. 37), 735 Commonwealth ex rel. Wesenberg v. School District of Bethlehem, 214 (n. 14), 229

304

Commonwealth v. Great Valley School District, 213 (n. 3), 229 Conard v. Goolsby, 181 (n. 53), 207 Concerned Parents v. New York City Board of Education, 156 (n. 72, 167 Conetta v. Board of Education of Patchogue, 214 (n. 23), 229 Congress of Teachers v. Board of Education of Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District, 213 (n. 9), 229 Connally v. General Construction, 79 (n. 25), 99 Cornell v. Higgenbotham, 171 (n. 4), 206 Connick v. Myers, 173 (n. 16), 206 Cook v. Hudson, 183 (n. 72), 207 Cooper v. Aaron, 112 (n. 26), 136 Cooper v. Eugene School District No. 4J, 197 (n. 166), 209 Cooper v. Oak Rubber Co., 199 (n. 177), 209 Corcoran v. Lyle School District No. 406, 251 (n. 84), 255 Cornelius v. Town of Highland Lake, 290 (n. 188), 296 Cornfield v. Consolidated High School District No. 230, 86 (n. 76), 87 (n. 83), 100 Cornwell v. State Board of Education, 30 (n. 59), 46 Corp. of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos, 199 (n. 178), 209 Costello v. Mitchell Public School District 79, 143 (n. 16), 165, 259 (n. 2), 292, 286 (n. 152), 295 County of Allegheny v. ACLU Greater Pitts­ burgh Chapter, 26 (n. 44), 46 Coyle v. Harper, 285 (n. 140), 295 Craig v. Boren, 123 (n. 58), 136 Craig v. Selma City School Board, 95 (n. 127), 101 Craik v. Minnesota State University Board, 193 (n. 127), 209 Crochiere v. Board of Education, 227 (n. 116), 232 Crockett v. Sorenson, 25 (n. 36), 46 Crosby v. Holsinger, 66 (n. 67), 74 Crossen v. Fatsi, 79 (n. 30), 99 Crump v. Board of Education of Hickory Admin­ istrative School Unit, 224 (n. 95), 237 Cude v. State, 184 (n. 77), 207 Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 263 (n. 26), 293 Curtis v. Falmouth School Committee, 31 (n. 62), 46 Cypress-Fairbanks Intermediate School District v. Michael F., 150 (n. 39), 166 D

D. B. v. Clarke County Board of Education, 95 (n. 128), 702

TABLE OF CASES

D. R. v. Middle Bucks Area Vocational Techni­ cal School, 290 (n. 186), 296 D. T.W., State v., 82 (n. 41), 99 Dailey v. Los Angeles Unified School District, 273 (n. 85), 294 Daily v. Board of Education of Morrill School District, 222 (n. 83), 237 Dale M. ex rel. Alice M. v. Board of Education of Bradley-Bourbonnais High School Dis­ trict No. 307, 155 (n. 62), 767 Dandan v. Radisson Hotel Lisle, 195 (n. 146), 209 Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education, 154 (n. 54), 766 Daniel v. Walters, 28 (n. 52), 46 Damn v. Gould, 129 (n. 90), 737 Daury v. Smith, 184 (n. 76), 207 David D. v. Dartmouth School Committee, 151 (n. 40), 766 Davis v. Board of Education of Aurora Public School District No. 131, 251 (n. 81), 255 Davis v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, 115(n. 35), 736 Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 131 (n. 700), 132 (n. 113), 737,138 Dawson v. East Side Union High School District, 20 (n. 8), 45 Day v. Prowers County School District RE-1, 215 (n. 24), 229 Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman, 111 (n. 23), 114(n. 31), 116(n. 37), 736 Debra P. v. Turlington, 118 (n. 46), 736 Dec v. Auburn Enlarged School District, 263 (n. 28), 293 Decatur Board of Education No. 61 v. Illinois Ed­ ucation Labor Relations Board, 244 (n. 41), 254 DeLeon v. Susquehanna Community School Dis­ trict, 156 (n. 74), 767 DeMichele v. Greenburgh Central School District No. 7,216 (n. 29), 230 Des Roches v. Caprio, 84 (n. 56), 86 (n. 74), 700, 288 (n. 164), 296 DeSantis v. Pac. Tel. & Tel. Co., 188 (n. 103), 205 Desert Palace, Inc. dba Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino v. Costa, 193 (n. 124), 209 DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 130 (n. 91), 737, 287 (n. 156), 290 (n. 189), 296 Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Educa­ tion, 65 (n. 60), 74 Desselle v. Guillory, 265 (n. 42), 293 Detsel v. Board of Education, 153 (n. 47), 766 Diamond, Board of Education v., 150 (n. 37), 766

305

TABLE OF CASES

Diaz v. San Jose Unified School District, 110 (n. 22), 136 Dickens v. Johnson County Board of Education, 91 (n. 94), 100 Dickerson v. New York City, 271 (n. 67), 294 DiCosala v. Key, 278 (n. 106), 294 DiLoreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education, 71 (n. 89), 74 Dillon v. Pulaski County Special School District, 77 (n. 4), 99 District 300 Education Ass'n v. Board of Educa­ tion of Dundee Community, 214 (n. 15), 229 District of Columbia v. Doe, 272 (n. 83), 294 Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education, 90 (n. 90), 93 (n. 109), 100,101 Dixon v. Beresh, 69 (n. 77), 74 Doe ex rel. Doe v. Pulaski County Secial School District, 51 (n. 12), 73 Doe v. , see opposing party Does v. Covington County School Board of Edu­ cation, 131 (n. 102), 132 (105), 137, 138 Dolingerv. Driver, 91 (n. 97), 101 Dolton Elementary School District No. 148, Doe v., 143 (n. 14), 165 Domico v. Rapides Parish School Board, 181 (n. 54), 207 Dominy v. Mays, 218 (n. 55), 230 Donohue v. Copiague Union Free School Dis­ trict, 283 (n. 129), 295 Dorsey v. Bale, 96 (n. 138), 97 (n. 141), 102 Dothard v. Rawlinson, 189 (n. 106), 208 Downs v. Los Angeles Unified School District, 66 (n. 66), 74, 180 (n. 48), 207 Doyle v. Bowdoin College, 276 (n. 103), 294 Dudley v. Victor Lynn Lines, Inc., 228 (n. 118), 232 Duffley v. New Hampshire Interscholastic Ath­ letic Ass'n, 91 (n. 95), 101 D'Ulisse-Cupo v. Board of Directors of Notre Dame High School, 251 (n. 82), 255 Dun & Bradstreet v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 264 (n. 30), 293 Duncanville Independent School District, Doe v., 27 (n. 47), 46 Duran v. Nitsche, 65 (n. 61), 74

E East Hartford Education Ass'n v. Board of Educa­ tion of East Hartford, 181 (n. 50), 207 Edwards v. Aguillard, 28 (n. 53), 46 Edwards v. Rees, 82 (n. 39), 99 Edwards v. South Carolina, 52 (n. 19), 73

EEOC v. Madison Community Unit School Dis­ trict, 194 (n. 138), 209 EEOC v. Waffle House, 204 (n. 201), 209 Eggers v. Bullitt County School District, 160 (n. 85), 167 Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County, 273 (n. 93), 294 Eisenberg ex rel. Eisenberg v. Montgomery County Public Schools, 122 (n. 54), 136 Eisner v. Stamford Board of Education, 61 (n. 53), 73 Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 33 (n. 67), 46 Ellis v. Ambach, 218 (n. 53), 230 Ellis v. Railway Clerks, 241 (n. 30), 254 Elrod v. Burns, 171 (n. 7), 206 Elston v. Talladega County Board of Education, 127 (n. 77), 737 Elstrom v. Independent School District, 263 (n. 29), 293 Elvin v. City of Waterville, 220 (n. 75), 237 Emmel v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Chicago, 193 (n. 125), 209 Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith, 198 (n. 170), 209 Engel v. Vitale, 21 (n. 18), 45 Enstad v. North Central of Barnes Public School District No. 65, 249 (n. 73), 255 Epperson v. Arkansas, 27 (n. 48), 46 Equal Open Enrollment Ass'n v. Akron City School District, 122 (n. 53), 136 Erb v. Iowa State Board of Public Instruction, 182 (n. 60), 207, 213 (n. 6), 219 (n. 63), 229 Erskine v. Board of Education, 178 (n. 35), 207 Estes, Doe v., 290 (n. 179), 290 (n. 183), 296

F Fagan v. Summers, 275 (n. 96), 294 Fairplay School Township v. O'Neal, 248 (n. 69), 255 Farrelly v. Timberlane Regional School District, 239 (n. 26), 254 Farrington v. School Committee of Cambridge, 215 (n. 26), 230 Fayette County Education Ass'n v. Hardy, 235 (n. 8), 253 FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 51 (n. 14), 73 Fedor v. Mauwehu Council, Boy Scouts of America, 277 (n. 104), 294 Fee v. Herndon, 95 (n. 123), 101 Feiner v. New York, 52 (n. 19), 73 Felter v. Cape Girardeau Public School District, 153 (n. 53), 166

306

TABLE OF CASES

Fenton v. Stear, 68 (n. 73), 74 Ferraro v. Board of Education of New York, 272 (n. 79), 294 Fewless ex rel. Fewless v. Board of Education of Wayland, 86 (n. 73), 100 Finot v. Pasadena City Board of Education, 181 (n. 52), 207 Fisher v. Church of St. Mary, 250 (n. 75), 255 Fisher v. Fairbanks North Star Borough School Dis­ trict, 179 (n. 41), 207,217 (n. 45), 230 Fisher v. Independent School District No. 622, 220 (n. 76), 237 Fisher v. Vassar College, 191 (n. 117), 205 Fitzpatrick v. Board of Education of Mamaroneck, 217 (n. 49), 230 Flaskamp v. Dearborn Public Schools, 184 (n. 74), 207 Fleischfresser v. Director of School District 200, 29 (n. 56), 46 Fleming v. Jefferson County School District R-l, 66 (n. 65), 71 (n. 89), 74 Florence County School District Four v. Carter, 156(n. 69), 167 Flores v. Arizona, 162 (n. 94), 167 Florey v. Sioux Falls School District 49-5, 26 (n. 45), 46 Force v. Pierce R-VI School District, 125 (n. 63), 737 Ford v. Jeane, 262 (n. 20), 292 Fort Zumwalt School District v. Clynes, 160 (n. 81), 167 Fortney v. School District of West Salem, 246 (n. 64), 255 Foster v. Ohio State University, 251 (n. 85), 255 Fowler v. Williamson, 78 (n. 16), 99, 91 (n. 97), 707 Frank B. Hall & Co. v. Buck, 261 (n. 10), 292 Franklin v. Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, Lodge 1108,263 (n. 28), 293 Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, 127 (n. 74, 81), 132 (n. 108), 737,138 Frankson v. Design Space International, 262 (n. 22), 293 Frasca v. Andrews, 55 (n. 26), 73 Fraskamp v. Dearborn Public Schools, 184 (n. 74), 207

Freeman v. Pitts, 117 (n. 40), 136 Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education, 29 (n. 54), 46 Fricke v. Lynch, 55 (n. 23), 73 Frontiero v. Richardson, 123 (n. 57), 736 Frumkin v. Board of Trustees, Kent State Univer­ sity, 225 (n. 100), 237 Fucinari v. Dearborn Board of Education, 215 (n. 24), 229

Fujishima v. Board of Education, 61 (n. 54), 73 Fyfe v. Curlee, 183 (n. 71), 207

G Gaines v. Anderson, 24 (n. 34), 46 Gainey v. School Board of Liberty County, 251 (n. 86), 255 Galda v. Rutgers, 33 (n. 71), 47 Galveston Independent School District v. Boothe, 79 (n. 29), 99 Gammon v. Edwardsville Community Unit School, 271 (n. 67), 294 Gano v. School District No. 411 of Twin Falls County, Idaho, 65 (n. 62), 74 Garcia v. Duffy, 278 (n. 106), 294 Gardner v. Broderick, 185 (n. 81), 205 Gardner v. Hollifield, 264 (n. 32), 293 Garrett v. Board of Education of School District of City of Detroit, 125 (n. 62), 737 Garrity v. New Jersey, 185 (n. 79), 208 Gates v. Unified School District No. 449, 289 (n. 172), 296 Gault v. Garrison, 204 (n. 204), 209 Gay Lib v. University of Missouri, 68 (n. 76), 74 Gay Student Services v. Texas A & M Univer­ sity, 68 (n. 76), 74 Gayle v. Browder, 109 (n. 15), 735 Gaylord v. Tacoma School District No. 10, 219 (n. 67), 237 Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School Dis­ trict, 131 (n. 99), 132 (n. 110), 737, 735, 290 (n. 181), 296 Gedney v. Board of Education, 218 (n. 55), 230 Geduldig v. Board of Education of New York, 225 (n. 106), 232 George v. School District No. 8R of Umatilla County, 251 (n. 89), 255 Georgia Ass'n of Educators v. Gwinnett County School District, 238 (n. 15), 253 Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 263 (n. 26), 293 Gfell v. Rickelman, 50 (n. 5), 72 Gibbons v. New Castle Area School District, 214 (n. 13), 229 Gillette v. Delmore, 289 (n. 178), 296 Gilliland v. Board of Education of Pleasant View, 216 (n. 30), 230 Gilpin v. Kansas State High School Activities Ass'n, 126 (n. 65), 737 Ginsberg v. New York, 57 (n. 32), 58 (n. 36), 73 Givens v. Poe, 93 (n. 116), 707 Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District, 173 (n. 15), 206 Glover v. Williamsburg Local School District Board of Education, 182 (n. 67), 207

307

TABLE OF CASES Godar v. Edwards, 279 (n. 115), 295 Goesaert v. Cleary, 107 (n. 12), 135 Goetz v. Ansell, 33 (n. 65), 46 Golden v. Board of Education, 218 (n. 56), 230 Gomes v. Rhode Island Interscholastic League, 126 (n. 67), 137 Gomez v. Illinois State Board of Education, 162 (n. 94), 167 Gomez v. Toledo, 287 (n. 162), 296 Gonzaga University v. Doe, 268 (n. 57), 293 Gonzales v. McEuen, 92 (n. 104), 93 (n. 115, 116), 101 Gonzales v. Passino, 286 (n. 150), 295 Gonzalez v. CNA Insurance Co., 262 (n. 21), 292 Gonzalez v. Mackler, 272 (n. 82), 294 Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 70 (n. 84), 74 Gooding v. Wilson, 58 (n. 40), 73 Goodwin v. Bennett County High School Inde­ pendent School District, 214 (n. 19), 229 Goseny v. Sonora Independent School District, 183 (n. 69), 207 Goss v. Board of Education of Knoxville, 112 (n. 26), 136 Goss v. Lopez, 90 (n. 91), 100 Gottlieb ex rel. Calabria v. Laural Highlands School District, 286 (n. 150), 295 Governing Board of Mountain View School Dis­ trict v. Metcalf, 221 (n. 81), 231 Gratz v. Bellinger, 120 (n. 51), 136 Gray v. Union County Intermediate Education District, 223 (n. 87), 231 Grayson v. Curtis Publishing Co., 263 (n. 29), 293 Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, 104 (n. 2), 112 (n. 28), 135, 136 Green v. Jenkintown School District, 226 (n. 108), 232 Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., 278 (n. 113), 294 Greene v. City of New York, 271 (n. 67), 294 Greer v. Rome City School District, 154 (n. 54), 166 Gregory K. v. Longview School District, 148 (n. 32), 166 Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County, 112(n. 26), 136 Griffith v. Johnson, 290 (n. 189), 296 Grimes v. Cavazos, 37 (n. 6), 45 Grissom v. Board of Education of Buckley-Loda Community School District No. 8, 216 (n. 31), 230 Griswold v. Connecticut, 78 (n. 12), 79 (n. 22), 99, 181 (n. 49), 182 (n. 55), 207

Grube v. Bethlehem Area School District, 144 (n. 23), 166 Grunwal v. San Bernardino City United School District, 242 (n. 33), 254 Grutter v. Bellinger, 119 (n. 50), 136 Guardians Ass'n v. Civil Service Commission, 127 (n. 73, 75, 84), 737, 162 (n. 91), 167 Guerra v. Roma Independent School District, 171 (n. 8), 206 Gunnell v. Utah Valley State College, 197 (n. 164), 209 Gutierrez v. School District R-l, 97 (n. 142), 102 Guyer v. School Board of Alachua County, 29 (n. 56), 46 Guzick v. Drebus, 56 (n. 30), 73

H Hale v. Board of Education of Lancaster, 218 (n. 59), 230 Hall v. Board of School Commissioners of Conecuh County, 25 (n. 36), 46 Hall v. Tawney, 95 (n. 122), 101 Hall v. Vance County Board of Education, 150 (n. 36), 166 Hallquist v. Local 276, Plumbers, 191 (n. 119), 209 Hallquist v. Max Fish Plumbing & Heating Co., 191 (n. 119), 209 Hamer v. Board of Education, 96 (n. 138), 97 (n. 141), 702 Hammond v. Marx, 164 (n. 102), 168 Hansard v. Johns-Manville Products Corp., 199 (n. 176), 209 Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 287 (n. 161, 163), 296 Harper v. Edgewood Board of Education, 55 (n. 23), 73 Harrah Independent School District v. Martin, 213 (n. 8), 229 Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 196 (n. 152), 209 Harris v. Joint School District No. 241, 24 (n. 31), 46 Harrisburg R-VIII School District v. O'Brian, 214 (n. 15), 229 Harrodsburg Board of Education v. Powell, 215 (n. 24), 229 Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton, 263 (n. 25), 293 Hartmann v. Loudoun County Board of Educa­ tion, 154 (n. 56), 166 Haskins v. State ex rel. Harrington, 172 (n. 11), 206 Hatch v. Goerke, 78 (n. 10), 99 Hathaway v. Runyon, 197 (n. 162), 209 Haverland v. Tempe Elementary School District No. 3, 252 (n. 93), 255

308

TABLE OF CASES

Hawkins v. Board of Public Education in Wilmington, 224 (n. 90), 237 Hawkins v. Coleman, 97 (n. 143), 102, 118 (n. 47), 136 Hayes v. Shelby Memorial Hospital, 189 (n. 107), 208 Hayes v. Smith, 262 (n. 18), 292 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 57 (n. 35), 63 (n. 57), 73, 74 Hazelwood School District v. United States, 193 (n. 126), 209 Healy v. James, 68 (n. 75), 74 Hearn v. Board of Public Education, 186 (n. 90), 205

Hebert v. Ventetuolo, 91 (n. 95), 101 Hedrick v. Board of Education, 215 (n. 25), 230 Hegarty v. Somerset County, 289 (n. 173), 296 Heideck v. Kent General Hospital, Inc., 251 (n. 91), 255 Heller v. Hodgin, 66 (n. 62), 74 Helms v. Independent School District No. 3 of Broken Arrow, 155 (n. 64), 167 Hemry v. School Board of Colorado Springs School District No. 11, 59 (n. 49), 73 Henerey ex rel. Henerey v. St. Charles, 66 (n. 64), 74 Henn v. National Geographic Society, 205 (n. 211), 211 Hennessy v. Webb, 285 (n. 137), 295 Herdahl v. Pontotoc County School District, 25 (n. 36), 46 Hernandez v. School District No. 1, Denver, 56 (n. 30), 73 Herndon v. Chapel Hill-Carrboro, 33 (n. 70), 47 Hett v. Ploetz, 264 (n. 38), 265 (n. 45), 293 Hickman v. Valley Local School District Board of Education, 238 (n. 17), 253 Hillsboro Independent School District, Doe v., 287 (n. 158), 290 (n. 182), 296 Hinson v. U.S.D. No. 500, 203 (n. 198), 209 Hoagland v. Mount Vernon School District No. 320, 218 (n. 58), 230 Hobson v. Hansen, 164 (n. 103), 168 Hoff v. Vacaville Unified School District, 271 (n. 75), 294 Hoffman v. Board of Education of New York, 283 (n. 130), 295 Hogenson v. Williams, 260 (n. 5), 292 Hohe v. San Diego Unified School District, 277 (n. 105), 294 Hollenbaugh v. Carnegie Free Library, 182 (n. 61), 207 Holloway v. Dougherty County School System, 285 (n. 136), 295

Holmes v. Atlanta, 109 (n. 15), 735 Honigv. Doe, 157(n. 79), 167 Hooks v. Clark County School District, 156 (n. 67), 767 Hoot v. Milan Area Schools, 144 (n. 22), 766 Hopkins v. Hamden Board of Education, 28 (n. 49), 46 Horton v. Goose Creek Independent School Dis­ trict, 83 (n. 52), 86 (n. 74), 700 Hortonville Joint School District No. 1 v. Hortonville Education Ass'n, 224 (n. 93), 237 Hoyem v. Manhattan Beach City School District, 271(n. 72), 294 Hsu v. Roslyn Union Free School District No. 3, 43 (n. 95), 47 Hughes v. North Olmsted, 184 (n. 74), 207 Human, Doe v., 25 (n. 36), 46 Humphrey v. Memorial Hospital Ass'n, 202 (n. 197), 209 Hunter v. Board of Education of Montgomery County, 283 (n. 131), 295 Hunter ex rel. Brandt v. Regents of University of California, 122 (n. 56), 736 Hurry v. Jones, 153 (n. 50), 160 (n. 84), 766, 767 Huston Belt & Terminal Railway v. Wheery, 262 (n. 21), 292 Hutchison v. Toews, 275 (n. 98), 294

I Illinois v. Pruitt, 88 (n. 85), 700 Immediate v. Gironda, 33 (n. 70), 46 In Interest of F. B., 88 (n. 85), 700 In Interest of S. S., 88 (n. 85), 700 In re Adam, 83 (n. 49), 99 In re Alexander B., 86 (n. 75), 700 In re Bobby B., 86 (n. 69), 700 In re Brighton Central School District, 247 (n. 68), 255 In re Drew P. v. Clark County School District, 155 (n. 57), 766 In re Gault, 49 (n. 2), 72, 81 (n. 36), 99 In re Local 195 v. State, 243 (n. 36), 254 In re Proposed Termination of James E. Johnson, 217 (n. 36), 230 In re S.C. v. State, 82 (n. 48), 99 InreShelton,218(n. 52), 230 In re Suspension of Huffer, 77 (n. 6), 99 In re Susquehanna Valley Teachers' Ass'n, 246 (n. 55), 254 In re Termination of Kibbe, 218 (n. 61), 230 In re Thomas, 218 (n. 51), 230 In the interest of S.C. v. Mississippi, 86 (n. 72), 700

309

TABLE OF CASES

Independent School District No. 1 of Tulsa County v. Logan, 186 (n. 90), 208 Independent School District No. 8 v. Swanson, 78 (n. 8), 99 Independent School District No. 283 v. S.D., 148 (n. 33), 166 Indiana Education Employment Relations Board v. Mill Creek Classroom Teachers' Ass'n,237(n. 11), 253 Indiana ex. rel. Anderson v. Brand, 214 (n. 22), 229 Indiana State Teachers' Ass'n v. Board of School Commissioners, 235 (n. 7), 238 (n. 14), 253 Ingraham v. Wright, 91 (n. 98), 94 (n. 119), 101, 286 (n. 148), 295 International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States, 193 (n. 128), 209, 235 (n. 7), 253 Irving Independent School District v. Tatro, 152 (n. 46), 166 Isaiah B. v. Wisconsin, 82 (n. 47), 99 Iverson v. Wall Board of Education, 220 (n. 79), 231 Izard v. Hickory City School Board of Education, 275 (n. 97), 294 J

J.D. ex rel. J.D. v. Pawlet School District, 146 (n. 30), 166 J.M. v. Webster County Board of Education, 79 (n. 23), 96 (n. 135), 99, 702 J.S. ex rel. H.S. v. Bethlehem Area School Dis­ trict, 51 (n. 12), 68 (n. 74), 73, 74 Jack­ son v. Action for Boston Community Development, Inc., 251 (n. 91), 255 Jackson v. Dorrier, 78 (n. 9), 99 Jacobs v. Board of Education of East Meadow, 246 (n. 59), 254 Jacobs v. Board of School Commissioners, 55 (n. 26), 73 Jager v. Douglas County School District, 23 (n. 26), 45 Jaksa v. Regents of University of Michigan, 93 (n. 117, 118), 101 James v. Board of Education of Central District No. 1,180 (n. 47), 207 James v. Unified School District No. 512, 84 (n. 61), 700 Jarvella v. Willoughby-East Lake City School District, 219 (n. 70), 237 Jasa v. Millard Public School District No. 17, 155 (n. 66), 167 Jefferson County Board of Education v. Breen, 160 (n. 83), 767

Jefferson v. Ysleta Independent School District, 288 (n. 165), 296 Jeffries v. Harleston, 175 (n. 19), 206 Jenkins v. Talladega City Board of Education, 84 (n. 65), 87 (n. 82), 700,288 (n. 165), 296 Jersey Shore Area School District v. Jersey Shore Education Ass'n, 239 (n. 24), 254 Jett v. Dallas Independent School District, 289 (n. 178), 296 John R. v. Oakland Unified School District, 279 (n. 115), 295 Johnson v. Cassell, 213 (n. 2), 229 Johnson v. Dallas Independent School District, 290 (n. 185), 296 Johnson v. Independent School District No. 4, 151(n. 40), 152(n.44), 766 Johnson v. Joint School District No. 60, 78 (n. 16), 99 Johnson v. Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, 151 (n. 42), 766 Johnson v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 251 (n. 91), 255 Johnson v. Newburgh Enlarged School District, 95 (n. 123), 707, 286 (n. 150), 295 Johnson v. San Jacinto Junior College, 182 (n. 62), 207 Johnson v. School Committee of Brockton, 20 (n. 16), 45 Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County, 189 (n. 110), 205 Johnson, State v., 82 (n. 42), 99 Johnston v. Corinthian Television Corp., 263 (n. 29), 293 Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District, Jones v. Latexo Independent School District, 24 (n. 30), 46, 84 (n. 61), 100 Jose P. v. Ambach, 163 (n. 101), 765

K KDM ex rel. WJM v. Reedsport School District, 155 (n. 66), 767 Kallstrom v. Columbus, 184 (n. 75), 207 Kampmeier v. Nyquist, 144 (n. 23), 766 Kapiloff v. Dunn, 263 (n. 27), 293 Karen B. v. Treen, 23(n. 23), 45 Karibian v. Columbia University, 195 (n. 148), 209 Karlen v. City Colleges of Chicago, 205 (n. 213), 277 Karnes v. Milo Beauty & Barber Shop Co., 264 (n. 31), 293 Katz v. United States, 82 (n. 40), 99 Kaufman v. Kent State University, 204 (n. 207), 277

310 Keckeisen v. Independent School District No. 612, 182 (n. 59), 207 Keesee v. Board of Education of New York, 273 (n. 87), 294 Kelley v. Drexel University, 200 (n. 183), 209 Kennedy v. Dexter Consolidated Schools, 86 (n. 76), 88 (n. 84), 700, 290 (n. 184), 296 Kennewick Education Ass'n v. Kennewick School District, No. 17, 246 (n. 67), 255 Keough v. Tate County Board of Education, 92 (n. 102), 92 (n. 106), 93 (n. 112), 101 Keppler v. Hinsdale Township School District 86, 195 (n. 143), 209 Kerkam v. McKenzie, 160 (n. 81), 167 Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver, 109 (n. 16), 110 (n. 18), 114 (n. 31), 116 (n. 37), 136 Keyishianv. Board of Regents, 11, 12, 171 (n. 3), 206 Kicklighter v. Evans, 66 (n. 69), 74 Killen v. Independent School District No. 706, 285 (n. 138), 295 Kimpton v. School District of New Lisbon, 285 (n. 141), 295 Kincaid v. Gibson, 66 (n. 66), 74 King v. Board of Education, 227 (n. 117), 232 King v. Board of Regents of University of Wis­ consin System, 196 (n. 156), 209 King v. Saddleback Junior College District, 78 (n. 13), 99 Kingsville Independent School District v. Coo­ per, 178 (n. 37), 207 Kinsella v. Board of Education of Amherst & Towanda, 225 (n. 99), 237 Kirkland v. Northside Independent School Dis­ trict, 178 (n. 34), 207 K-Mart Corp. v. Trotti, 267 (n. 50), 293 Knight v. Board of Education of Tri-Point Com­ munity Unit School District No. 6-J, 97 (n. 141), 702 Knipmeyer v. Diocese of Alexandria, 251 (n. 82), 255 Knox v. Indiana, 197 (n. 164), 209 Knox County Education Ass'n v. Knox County Board of Education, 187 (n. 94), 205 Koenick v. Felton, 25 (n. 41), 46 Kolesnick v. Omaha Public School District, 95 (n. 128), 702 Korematsu v. United States, 107 (n.l 1), 735 Krakower v. City of New York, 272 (n. 78), 294 Krizek v. Cicero-Stickney Township High School District No. 201, 178 (n. 40), 207 Kromnick v. School District of Philadelphia, 191 (n. 114), 205

TABLE OF CASES

Kruelle v. New Castle County School District, 155 (n. 58,61), 167 Kuehn v. Renton School District No. 403, 84 (n. 58), 86 (n. 74), 700 Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School District, 57 (n. 35), 73 Kunsehnan v. Western Reserve Local School District, 29 (n. 56), 46 Kush v. Buffalo, 273 (n. 89), 294 L

Lachman v. Illinois State Board of Education, 154(n. 54), 166 Lacks v. Ferguson Reorganized School District R-2, 178 (n. 35), 207 Laird v. Independent School District No. 317, 225 (n.l 04), 237 Lamb v. Panhandle Community United School District No. 2,92 (n. 105), 707 Lambert v. Board of Education of Middle Coun­ try Central School District, 214 (n. 23), 229 Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District, 69 (n. 83), 74 Landry v. Ascension Parish School Board, 261 (n. 6), 292 Larez v. Los Angeles, 132 (n. 107), 735 Larive v. Willitt, 262 (n. 20), 292 LaRocca v. Board of Education of Rye City School District, 179 (n. 43), 207 Larry P. v. Riles, 118 (n. 45), 736, 127 (n. 77), 737, 164(n. 105), 765 Larson v. Independent School District No. 314, 272 (n. 77), 285 (n. 139), 294, 295 Larson v. Miller, 288 (n. 168), 289 (n. 172), 296 Lascari v. Board of Education of Ramapo Indian Hills, 160 (n. 82), 767 Lau v. Nichols, 161 (n. 89), 767 Lauricella v. Board of Education of Buffalo, 273 (n. 83), 294 LaVine v. Elaine School District, 57 (n. 32), 58 (n. 41), 73 Law v. Mandan Public School District, 226 (n. lll),232,251(n. 90), 255 Lawrence v. Texas, 183 (n. 68), 207, 219 (n. 66), 237 Lee v. Weisman, 23 (n. 27), 45 Leebaert ex rel. Leebaert v. Harrington, 30 (n. 60), 46 Leffall v. Dallas Independent School District, 290 (n. l85), 296 Lefkowitz v. Cunningham, 185 (n. 81), 205 Lehmuth v. Long Beach Unified School District, 271 (n. 68), 294

TABLE OF CASES

Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n, 242 (n. 32), 254 Leibner v. Sharbaugh, 77 (n. 5), 99 Lemon v. Kurtzman, 22 (n. 20), 45 Lester v. Powers, 262 (n. 13), 292 LeVake v. Independent School District No. 656, 178 (n. 36), 207 Levin v. Harleston, 175 (n. 19), 206 Lewis v. Equitable Life Assurance Society, 263 (n. 23), 295 Lexington County School District 1 Board of Trustees v. Bost, 214 (n. 18), 229 Libe v. Board of Education of Twin Cedars, 221 (n. 80), 237 Lillard v. Shelby County Board of Education, 127 (n. 82), 137, 287 (n. 154), 296 Lindgren v. Board of Trustees, High School Dis­ trict No. 1, 218 (n. 60), 230 Linke v. Northwestern School Corp., 89 (n. 88), 100 Lipkis v. Caveney, 60 (n. 50), 73 Lipp v. Morris, 33 (n. 65), 46 Lipsett v. University of Puerto Rico, 195 (n. 142), 209 Little v. Wuerl, 199 (n. 179), 209 Littlefield v. Forney Independent School District, 62 (n. 55), 74 Littlejohn v. Rose, 182 (n. 56), 207 Loewen v. Turnipseed, 36 (n. 84), 47 Logan v. City of New York, 271 (n. 67), 294 Logan v. Warren County Board of Education, 218 (n. 52), 230 London v. Directors of DeWitt Public Schools, 95 (n. 123), 101 Long v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 50 (n. 7), 72 Lora v. Board of Education of New York, 118 (n. 48), 136 Lorain City School District v. State Employment Relations Board, 243 (n. 36), 254 Los Angeles v. Manhart, 194 (n. 139), 209 Lostumbo v. Board of Education of Norwalk, 284 (n. 133), 295 Lovell v. Poway Unified School District, 51 (n. 11), 58 (n. 41), 72, 73 Lynch v. Board of Education of Collinsville Community, 279 (n. 116), 295 Lynch v. Webb City School District No. 92, 249 (n. 74), 255 Lyons v. Barrett, 197 (n. 165), 209 Lyons v. Sullivan, 184 (n. 76), 207 M

M. C. ex rel. J. C. v. Central Regional School, 150 (n. 37, 38), 166

311 Macomb County Intermediate School District v. Joshua S., 153 (n. 52), 166 Maddox v. City of New York, 282 (n. 125), 295 Madison Joint School District v. Wisconsin Em­ ployment Commission, 240 (n. 27), 254 Mailloux v. Kiley, 178 (n. 39), 207 Manale v. New Orleans, 262 (n. 18), 292 Mandell v. Board of Education, 93 (n. 110), 101 Manguso v. Oceanside Unified School District, 264 (n. 31), 293 Mapp v. Ohio, 84 (n. 59), 700 Marcantel v. Allen Parish School Board, 276 (n. 99), 294 Marchi v. Board of Cooperative Educational Ser­ vices of Albany, 179 (n. 42), 207 Marcus v. Rowley, 41 (n. 92), 47 Martens v. District No. 220, 86 (n. 68), 700 Martin v. Twin Falls School District #411, 271 (n. 71), 294 Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Children v. Michigan Board of Educa­ tion, 163 (n. 100), 168 Mary M. v. North Lawrence Community School Corp., 131 (n. 98), 737 Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia, 204 (n. 202), 209 Massachusetts v. Carey, 82 (n. 47), 99 Massachusetts v. Snyder, 82 (n. 45), 99 Massey v. Argenbright, 226 (n. 109), 232 Massie v. Henry, 78 (n. 13), 99 Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 261 (n. 9), 292 Matter of Buffalo Council of Supervisors & Ad­ ministrators v. City of Buffalo School District, 246 (n. 66), 255 Matter of C.M.J., 97 (n. 146), 702 Matter of Juan C. v. Cortines, 84 (n. 62), 700 Matter of Pima County Juvenile Action, 86 (n. 68), 700 Matter of Unido R., 268 (n. 56), 293 Mattern v. Eastman Kodak Co., 197 (n. 163), 209 Max M. v. Thompson, 153 (n. 48), 166 Maxwell, United States v., 186 (n. 84), 205 May v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp., 198 (n. 167), 209 Mayor of Baltimore v. Dawson, 109 (n. 15), 735 Maywood Board of Education v. Maywood Edu­ cation Ass'n, 244 (n. 45), 254 Mazart v. State, 262 (n. 18), 292 Mazevksi v. Horseheads Central School District, 91 (n. 95), 707 McBeth v. Board of Education of DeValls Bluff School District No. 1, 250 (n. 77), 255

312 McCarthney v. Griffin-Spaulding County Board of Education, 183 (n. 70), 192 (n. 122), 207, 209 McClure v. Independent School District No. 16, 225 (n. 101), 231 McCone v. New England Telegraph & Telephone Co., 264 (n. 34), 293 McCutcheon v. Chicago Principals Ass'n, 248 (n. 69), 255 McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 189 (n. 109), 208 McGree v. Draper, 225 (n. 101), 231 Mclntosh v. Omaha Public School, 281 (n. 122), 282 (n. 126), 295 McKenzie v. Jefferson, 153 (n. 48), 166 McKnight v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Trans­ portation Authority, 223 (n. 86), 231 McLaughlin v. Boston School Committee, 121 (n. 52), 136 McLaughlin v. State Board of Education, 163 (n. 98), 168 McLaughlin v. Tilendis, 237 (n. 12), 253 McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 106 (n. 10), 135 McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, 28 (n. 53), 46 McNair v. Oak Hills Local School District, 153 (n. 51), 166 McNeal v. Tate County School District, 164 (n. 103, 104), 168 McPherson v. Michigan High School Athletic Ass'n, 144 (n. 20), 166 Meckley v. Kanawha County Board of Educa­ tion, 217 (n. 39), 230 Medlin v. Bass, 278 (n. 107), 294 Melton v. Young, 56 (n. 29), 73 Meltzer v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange County, 25 (n. 38), 46 Memphis Community School District v. Stachura, 290 (n. 1ll), 296 Mentavlos v. Anderson, 287 (n. 157), 296 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 196 (n. 151), 209 Mescia v. Berry, 182 (n. 57), 207 Metzger v. Osbek, 95 (n. 123), 707 Metzl v. Leininger, 26 (n. 43), 46 Michael C. v. Radnor Township School District, 157 (n. 78), 167 Michigan Coaches Ass'n v. Warren Consolidated Schools, 235 (n. 5), 253 Michigan Education Ass'n v. Clare-Gladwin In­ termediate School District, 234 (n. 3), 253 Miener v. Missouri, 160 (n. 83), 167 Miles v. Denver Public Schools, 179 (n. 44), 207

TABLE OF CASES

Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 262 (n. 16), 292 Milkovich v. News-Herald, 263 (n. 28), 293 Miller v. Board of Education of School District No. 132, Cook County, 225 (n. 99), 237 Miller v. California, 51 (n. 9), 72 Millikan v. Board of Directors of Everett School District, 177 (n. 30), 206 Milliken v. Bradley (Milliken I), 114 (n. 32), 136 Milliken v. Bradley (Milliken II), 114 (n. 31), 736 Mills v. Board of Education, 140 (n. 3), 765 Milwaukee Board of School Directors v. Wiscon­ sin Employment Relations Commis­ sion, 243 (n. 40), 254 Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District, 34 (n. 74), 47 Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 32 (n. 64), 46 Minielly v. State, 172 (n. 12), 206 Minnesota Education Ass'n v. Independent School District No. 495, 246 (n. 63), 255 Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight, 240 (n. 28), 254 Mirand v. City of New York, 273 (n. 91), 294 Miranda v. Arizona, 81 (n. 36), 99 Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, 124 (n. 60), 736 Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 106 (n. 8), 735 Missouri National Education Ass'n v. Missouri State Board of Mediation, 234 (n. 3), 253 Missouri v. Jenkins, 115 (n. 34, 36), 736 Mitchell v. Baldrige, 191 (n. 114), 208 Mitchell v. Board of Trustees of Pickens County, 188 (n. 101), 205 Molnar v. Booth, 197 (n. 160), 209 Monell v. Department of Social Services, 289 (n. 170), 289 (n. 176), 296 Montgomery County Council of Supporting Ser­ vice Employees, Inc. v. Board of Edu­ cation, 245 (n. 51), 254 Moody v. Cronin, 78 (n. 10), 99 Moore v. Willis Independent School District, 95 (n. 123), 707 Morale v. Grigel, 84 (n. 61), 700 Morales v. Shannon, 164 (n. 103), 765 Moreno v. Consolidated Railroad Corp., 145 (n. 28), 766 Morfin v. Albuquerque Public Schools, 175 (n. 19), 206 Morgan v. Kerrigan, 115 (n. 35), 736 Morgan v. Nucci, 117 (n. 43), 736 Moricoli v. Schwartz, 262 (n. 18), 292

313

TABLE OF CASES

Morris v. Douglas County School District No. 9, 273 (n. 90), 294 Morrison v. Mobile County Board of Education, 264 (n. 35), 293 Morrison v. State Board of Education, 219 (n. 68), 231 Morton v. Hampton School District No. 1, 248 (n. 71), 255 Moses v. Washington Parish School Board, 164 (n. 103), 168 Mosley v. Portland School District No. IJ, 285 (n. 140), 295 Moss v. Stockard, 263 (n. 28), 264 (n. 33), 293 Moteles v. University of Pennsylvania, 189 (n. 108), 208 Moyer v. Amador Valley Joint Union High School District, 262 (n. 11), 292 Mozert v. Hawkins County Board of Education, 30 (n. 58), 46 Mrs. B. v. Milford Board of Education, 150 (n. 36), 166 Mt. Health City School District Board of Educa­ tion v. Doyle, 176 (n. 28), 206 Muller v. Jefferson Lighthouse School, 60 (n. 52), 73 Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 201 (n. 187), 209 Murray v. Sapula, 193 (n. 123), 209 Murrell v. School District No. 1, 130 (n. 92), 131 (n. 104), 137, 138

N N.L.R.B. v. Yeshiva University, 234 (n. 4), 253 NAACP v. Medical Center Inc., 127 (n. 83), 737 Nabozny v. Podlesny, 130 (n. 92), 737 National Education Ass'n v. South Bend Com­ munity School Corp., 239 (n. 24), 254 National Gay Task Force v. Board of Education of Oklahoma City, 182 (n. 65), 207 Neal ex rel. Neal v. Fulton County Board of Edu­ cation, 95 (n. 123), 707, 286 (n. 149), 295 Nedder v. Rivier College, 200 (n. 186), 209 Nelson v. Doland Board of Education, 248 (n. 70), 255 Nelson v. Moline School District No. 40, 59 (n. 46), 73 Neuhaus v. Frederico, 77 (n. 7), 99 New Braunfels Independent School District v. Armke, 96 (n. 737), 702 New Jersey v. T.L.O., 84 (n. 55, 66), 700 New Mexico Ass'n for Retarded Citizens v. New Mexico, 141 (n. 8, 11), 165 New Mexico v. Michael G., 86 (n. 71), 700

New Rider v. Board of Education, 78 (n.10), 99 New York State Club Ass'n, Inc. v. City of New York, 69 (n. 80), 74 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 263 (n. 25, 26), 293 New York v. Dukes, 88 (n. 85), 700 Newdow v. United States Congress, 33 (n. 67), 46 Newman v. Board of Education of New York, 226 (n. 113), 232 Newsome v. Batavia Local School District, 93 (n. 113), 707 Niagara Wheatfield Administrators Ass'n v. Ni­ agara Wheatfield Central School Dis­ trict, 246 (n. 65), 255 Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant Enterprises, Inc., 188 (n. 103), 205 Nickel v. Saline County School District No. 163, 225 (n. 102), 237 Niedbalski v. Board of Education of School Dis­ trict No. 24 of Platte Center, 251 (n. 84), 255 Niemi v. Board of Education, 225 (n. 98), 237 Nieuwendorp v. American Family Insurance Co., 280 (n. 118), 295 Nitzberg v. Parks, 77 (n. 5), 99 Nix v. Franklin County School District, 286 (n. 151), 295 Nodar v. Galbreath, 263 (n. 28), 293 Norris v. American Casualty Co., 270 (n. 65), 293 North Carolina, United States v., 194 (n. 135), 209 North Kingstown v. North Kingstown Teachers' Ass'n, 235 (n. 9), 253 Norwalk Teachers' Ass'n v. Board of Education of Norwalk, 234 (n. 1), 253

O Oak Harbor School District v. Oak Harbor Edu­ cation Ass'n, 247 (n. 68), 255 Oberti v. Board of Education of Clementon School District, 154 (n. 54), 160 (n. 82), 166, 167 O'Brien, United States v., 51 (n. 15), 52 (n. 18), 73 O'Connor v. Board of Education of School Dis­ trict 23, 126 (n. 64), 137 O'Connor v. Ortega, 185 (n. 82), 208 Olesen v. Board of Education of School District Number 228, 50 (n. 6), 56 (n. 30), 72, 73 Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serivces, 195 (n. 144), 209 Oneal v. Colton Consolidated School District No. 306, 250 (n. 75), 255 Oona R.-S. v. Santa Rosa City Schools, 131 (n. 97), 132 (n. 105), 137, 138, 289 (n. 171), 296

314 Orange v. County of Grundy, 96 (n. 136), 102 Osborne v. Bullitt County Board of Education, 217 (n. 40), 224 (n. 91), 230, 231 O'Toole v. Olathe District Schools Unified School District No. 233, 151 (n. 40), 166 Overton, People v., 82 (n. 44), 83 (n. 50), 99 Owasso Independent School District No. I-011 v. Falvo, 268 (n. 55), 287 (n. 155), 293, 296 Owen v. Independence, 289 (n. 177), 296 Oyster River Co-Op School District, Doe v., 132 (n. 109), 138

p P. B. v. Koch, 81 (n. 34), 99, 95 (n. 123, 126), 101 P. H. v. School District of Kansas City, 132 (n. 112), 138 Palella v. Ulmer, 271 (n. 69), 274 (n. 95), 294 Palmer v. Board of Education of Chicago, 178 (n. 32), 198 (n. 169), 206, 209 Palmer v. Ticcione, 204 (n. 203), 209 Palone v. Jefferson Parish School Board, 226 (n. 110), 232 Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 274 (n. 94), 294 Pandazides v. Virginia Board of Education, 145 (n. 27), 166, 203 (n. 199), 209 Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Mis­ souri, 58 (n. 39), 73 Parks v. Pavkovic, 155 (n. 65), 167 Parliament v. Yukon Flats School District, 250 (n. 76), 255 Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler, 116 (n. 38), 136 Passaic Township Board of Education v. Passaic Teachers' Ass'n, 239 (n. 24), 254 Patchogue-Medford Congress of Teachers v. Board of Education of Patchogue-Medford, 187 (n. 93), 208 Peck v. Independent County Board of Education, 226 (n. 107), 232 Peck v. Upshur County Board of Education, 25 (n. 40), 46 Pedersen v. South Williamsport Area School Dis­ trict, 246 (n. 54), 254 Pembaurv. Cincinnati, 289 (n. 178), 296 Pennsylvania Ass'n for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth, 140 (n. 2), 765 Pennsylvania v. Cass, 82 (n. 46), 99 People ex rel. Hogan v. Newton, 260 (n. 3), 292 People v. , see opposing party

TABLE OF CASES

Perdue v. City University of New York, 194 (n. 138), 209 Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n, 52 (n. 20), 73, 242 (n. 34), 254 Perry v. Sindermann, 222 (n. 85), 237 Ferryman v. School Committee of Boston, 218 (n. 52), 230 Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney, 109 (n. 17), 736, 194 (n. 131), 209 Peter W. v. San Francisco Unified School Dis­ trict, 283 (n. 129), 295 Peters v. Baldwin Union Free School District, 264 (n. 36), 293 Peterson v. Doe, 271 (n. 71), 294 Petrie v. Illinois High School Ass'n, 126 (n. 67), 737 Pettit v. State Board of Education, 219 (n. 64), 237 Pfeiffer v. Marion Center Area School District, 127 (n. 82), 737 Philip Leon M. v. Greenbrier County Board of Education, 75 (n. 1), 99 Phoenix Elementary School District No. 1 v. Green, 66 (n. 68), 74 Pickering v. Board of Education, 172 (n. 14), 206, 217 (n. 36), 230 Pickings v. Bruce, 69 (n. 81), 74 Pico, Board of Education v., 34 (n. 76), 47 Pine River State Bank v. Mettille, 251 (n. 90), 255 Pinsker v. Joint District No. 28J of Adams & Arapahoe Counties, 198 (n. 171), 209 Piscataway Township Education Ass'n v. Piscataway Township Board of Educa­ tion, 244 (n. 46), 254 Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400 v. Aaron, 213 (n. 7), 229 Pittsburgh Unified School District v. California School Employees Ass'n, 238 (n. 18), 253 Piver v. Pender County Board of Education, 175 (n. 20), 206 Place, United States v., 83 (n. 51), 700 Planned Parenthood v. Clark County School Dis­ trict, 66 (n. 66), 71 (n. 90), 74 Plessy v. Ferguson, 105 (n. 6), 735 Plumeau v. Yamhill County School District, 285 (n. 143), 286 (n. 146), 290 (n. 187), 295, 296 Plylerv. Doe, 17 (n. 5), 45 Poling v. Murphy, 66 (n. 62), 74 Polk v. Central Susquehanna Independent Unit 16, 150 (n. 36), 766 Ponticas v. K.M.S. Investments, 278 (n. 106), 294 Poole v. South Plainfield Board of Education, 144 (n. 23), 766

315

TABLE OF CASES

Pottgen v. Missouri State High School Athletic Ass'n, 144 (n. 19), 166 Powell v. Board of Trustees of Crook County School District No. 1, 217 (n. 37), 230 Pratt v. Independent School District No. 831, 28 (n. 49), 46 President's Council v. Community School Board, No. 25, 34 (n. 73), 47 Price v. Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medi­ cine & Surgery, 251 (n. 87), 255 Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 195 (n. 145), 209 Priest v. Rotary, 195 (n. 150), 209 Prince v. Jacoby, 47 (n. 98), 47 Project Principle, Inc., State v., 213 (n. 4), 229 Public Employees Relations Commission v. Dis­ trict School Board of DeSoto County, 246 (n. 53), 254 Purvis v. Marion County School Board, 218 (n. 53), 230 Pyle v. South Hadley School Committee, 66 (n. 62), 74 R

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 58 (n. 42), 73 Rains County Independent School District, Doe vs., 287 (n. 158), 296 Randi W. v. Muroc Joint Unified School District, 266 (n. 48), 293 Rankey v. Arlington Board of Education, 282 (n. 126), 295 Rankin v. McPherson, 174 (n. 17), 206 Rankins v. Commission on Professional Compe­ tence, 198 (n. 172), 209 Rasmus v. Arizona, 94 (n. 118), 101 Rayl v. Fort Wayne Community Schools, 193 (n. 125), 209 Raymon v. Alvord Independent School District, 97 (n. 141), 702 Redman v. Lima City School District Board of Education, 196 (n. 153), 209 Reed v. Vermilion Local School District, 97 (n. 145), 702 Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 191 (n. 120), 209 Rene v. MGM Grand Hotel, Inc., 188 (n. 103), 208 Rettig v. Kent City School District, 151 (n. 42), 166 Reyes, United States v., 186 (n. 87), 208 Rhodes v. Guarricino, 86 (n. 70), 700 Rhyne v. Childs, 118 (n. 48), 736 Richards v. Thurston, 77 (n. 3), 99 Richardson v. Lamar County Board of Education, 194 (n. 135), 209

Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Lipscomb, 263 (n. 28), 293 Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co., 190 (n. 112), 205

Rick v. Kentucky Day, Inc., 283 (n. 130), 295 Ridge v. Cape Elizabeth School Department, 201 (n. 190), 209 Ridgewood Board of Education v. N. E. ex rel. M.E., 150 (n. 37), 166 Ridler v. Olivia Public School System No. 653, 191 (n. 121), 209 Rife v. Long, 271 (n. 73), 294 Rios v. Read, 162 (n. 94), 767 Rivera v. East Otero School District, R-l, 59 (n. 46), 73 Riverview School District v. Riverview Educa­ tion Ass'n, 217 (n. 42), 230 Rizzo v. Goode, 289 (n. 170), 296 Roberts v. Robertson County Board of Education, 273 (n. 88), 294 Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 69 (n. 80), 74 Robertson v. Granite City Community Unit School District 9, 143 (n. 14), 765 Rocci v. Ecole Secondarie Macdonald-Cartier, 262 (n. 19), 292 Roev. Wade, 182 (n. 55), 207 Rogliano v. Fayette County Board of Education, 218 (n. 57), 230 Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, 256, 160 (n. 81), 767 Rolando v. School Directors of District No. 125, County of LaSalle, 95 (n. 126), 707, 260 (n. 4), 292 Ronckerv. Walter, 154 (n. 54), 766 Rosenberg v. Board of Education of New York, 37 (n. 85), 47 Ross v. Double Diamond, Inc., 196 (n. 154), 209 Ross v. Houston Independent School District, 117 (n. 43), 736 Rothschild v. Grottenthaler, 141 (n. 10), 765 Round Valley Teacher Ass'n, Board of Education v., 247 (n. 68), 255 Rowe v. Cleveland Pneumatic Co., 194 (n. 130), 209 Rowinsky v. Bryan Independent School District, 131 (n. 100), 737 Rowland v. Mad River Local School District, 175 (n. 22), 182 (n. 64), 206, 207 Ruggles v. California Polytechnic State Univer­ sity, 193 (n. 123), 209 Russo v. Central School District No. 1, 177 (n. 31), 206 Rust v. Clark County School District, 217 (n. 48), 230 Rust v. Sullivan, 179 (n. 45), 207

316

TABLE OF CASES

Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 171 (n. 7), 172 (n. 11), 206

s S.W. v. Holbrook Public Schools, 158 (n. 80), 767 Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education v. Rachel H., 154 (n. 55), 166, 246 (n. 64), 255 Sain v. Cedar Rapids Community School Dis­ trict, 283 (n. 132), 295 Saleh v. District of Columbia, 157 (n. 76), 167 Salek v. Passaic Collegiate School, 262 (n. 14), 292 Salvail v. Nashua Board of Education, 36 (n. 80), 47

San Antonio Independent School District v. Ro­ driguez, 90 (n. 92), 100, 105 (n. 3), 135 San Diego Committee Against Registration & the Draft v. Governing Board of Grossmont Union High School District, 65 (n. 59), 74 Sandison v. Michigan High School Athletic Ass'n, 144 (n. 18), 165 Sandlin v. Johnson, 164 (n. 102), 168 Sanford v. Rockefeller, 239 (n. 26), 254 Sansone v. Bechtel, 81 (n. 35), 99 Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 23 (n. 28), 45 Santavicca v. City of Yonkers, 265 (n. 40), 295 Sarac v. State Board of Education, 182 (n. 66), 207, 219 (n. 64), 231 Sargi v. Kent City Board of Education, 290 (n. 190), 296 Saylor v. Board of Education of Harlan County, 95 (n. 123), 101 Schanou v. Lancaster County School District No. 160, 25 (n. 40), 46 Schenck v. United States, 52 (n. 17), 73 Scheuer v. Rhodes, 287 (n. 160), 296 School Board of Leon County v. Goodson, 249 (n. 74), 255 School Board of Nassau County v. Airline, 143 (n. 13), 765,201 (n. 191), 209 School Board of Ouachita Parish, Doe v., 24 (n. 34), 46 School Committee of Danvers v. Tyman, 246 (n. 60), 255 School Committee of Westerly v. Westerly Teachers' Ass'n, 239 (n. 21), 253 School District Board of Directors v. Lundblad, 220 (n. 74), 237 School District No. 1 v. Teachers' Retirement Fund Ass'n, 184 (n. 77), 207

School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 21 (n. 19), 45 School District of Erie v. Erie Education Ass'n, 246 (n. 61, 64), 255 Scionti v. Board of Education of Middle County Central School District, 272 (n. 80), 294

Scopes v. State, 27 (n. 48), 46 Scotland Neck Board of Education, United States v., 114 (n. 31), 116 (n. 37), 736 Scott D., People v., 84 (n. 60), 700 Scott v. Board of Education of Alton, 218 (n. 53), 230 Scoville v. Board of Education of Joliet Town­ ship, 55 (n. 25), 58 (n. 38), 73 Seal v. Morgan, 79 (n. 23), 96 (n. 135), 99, 702 Seamons v. Snow, 91 (n. 95), 707, 127 (n. 82), 131 (n. 101), 737, 287 (n. 154), 296 Searcey v. Harris, 66 (n. 66), 69 (n. 82), 70 (n. 88), 74 Segall v. Piazza, 264 (n. 37), 293 Sekor v. Board of Education of Ridgefield, 216 (n. 34), 230 Seneway v. Cannon McMillian School District, 131 (n. 97), 737 Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools, 162 (n. 94), 767 Settle v. Dickson County School Board, 65 (n. 61), 74 Seyfried v. Walton, 35 (n. 78), 47 Shanely v. Northeast Independent School Dis­ trict, Bexar County, 55 (n. 25), 73, 77 (n. 3), 99 Sheck v. Baileyville School Committee, 35 (n. 79), 47 Sheff v. O'Neill, 111 (n. 24), 736 Shelton v. Tucker, 171 (n. 2), 185 (n. 78), 206, 207 Sheppard v. Midway R-l School, 282 (n. 124), 295 Sherboume v. School Board of Suwannee County, 219 (n. 63), 230 Sherman v. Community Consolidated School District 21, 33 (n. 66), 46 Shook v. St. Bede School, 204 (n. 207), 277 Simard v. Board of Education of Groton, 224 (n. 97), 237 Simonton v. Runyon, 188 (n. 103), 208 Sine v. Trustees of California State University, 193 (n. 129), 209 Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n, 187 (n. 92), 205 Skripchuk v. Austin, 218 (n. 51), 230 Slotterback v. Interboro School District, 59 (n. 46), 60 (n. 51), 73

TABLE OF CASES

Smith v. Archbishop of St. Louis, 272 (n. 81), 294 Smith v. Board of Education of Fort Madison, 217 (n. 50), 230 Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mo­ bile County, 29 (n. 55), 46 Smith v. Denny, 33 (n. 66), 46 Smith v. Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, 131 (n. 103), 138 Smith v. School City of Hobart, 96 (n. 138), 102 Smith v. Severn, 97 (n. 144), 102 Smith v. St. Louis University, 196 (n. 156), 209 Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 186 (n. 83), 208 Smuck v. Hobson, 164 (n. 103), 168 Snell v. Brothers, 215 (n. 24), 230 Snow v. State, 283 (n. 130), 295 Soglin v. Kauffman, 79 (n. 28), 99 Solis v. Rio Grande City Independent School, 171 (n. 9), 206 Solmitz v. Maine School Administrative District No. 59, 69 (n. 81), 74 Solomon v. Quinones, 182 (n. 58), 207 South Carolina, United States v., 194 (n. 136), 209 Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 143 (n. 17), /65, 202 (n. 194), 209 Speake v. Grantham, 82 (n. 41), 99 Spearman v. Ford Motor Co., 188 (n. 103), 195 (n. 146), 205, 209 Spears v. Jefferson Parish School Board, 259 (n. 1), 292 Spencer v. Omaha Public School District, 96 (n. 130), 702 Spielberg v. Henrico County Public School, 160 (n. 81), 167 Spiewak v. Board of Education of Rutherford, 243 (n. 39), 254 St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 289 (n. 178), 296 St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, 191 (n. 117), 205 Stahl v. Cocalico School District, 281 (n. 121), 284 (n. 134), 295 Stamper v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Edu­ cation, 259 (n. 2), 292 Startzel v. Commonwealth, Department of Edu­ cation, 218 (n. 52), 230 State ex rel. Andrews v. Webber, 19 (n. 6), 45 State ex rel. Beattie v. Board of Education of Antigo, 140 (n. 1), 165 State ex rel. McKenna v. District No. 8, 214 (n. 21), 229 State ex rel. Melchiori v. Board of Education, 225 (n. 103), 237

317 State ex rel. Mueller v. Common School Board of Joint School District No. 2 of Prince­ ton, 20 (n. 16), 45 State ex rel. Thayer v. School District of Ne­ braska City, 20 (n. 20), 45 State ex rel. Yarber v. McHenry, 92 (n. 101), 707 State v. , see opposing party Staton v. Mayes, 224 (n. 90, 94), 237 Steirer v. Bethlehem Area School District, 33 (n. 69), 47 Stephens v. Board of Education, School District No. 5, 182 (n. 66), 207, 219 (n. 64), 237 Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District, 79 (n. 26), 99 Sterling v. Minersville, 184 (n. 75), 207 Stern v. New Haven Community Schools, 82 (n. 43), 99 Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Se­ cret Service, 186 (n. 87), 205 Stevens v. Tillman, 262 (n. 21), 292 Stone v. Graham, 22 (n. 21), 45 Stoneking v. Bradford Area School District, 286 (n. 147), 289 (n. 172), 290 (n. 180), 295, 296 Storch v. Silverman, 269 (n. 58), 293 Strathie v. Department of Transportation, 202 (n. 193), 209 Strauder v. West Virginia, 105 (n. 4), 735 Strickland v. Inlow, 93 (n. 107), 707 Student Coalition for Peace v. Lower Merion School District Board, 69 (n. 79), 74 Succarv. Dade County School Board, 195 (n. 143), 20P Sullivan v. Huston Independent School District, 55 (n. 25), 73, 93 (n. 108), 707 Sullivan v. Vallejo City United School District, 145 (n. 25), 766 Superintendent of Schools of Worcester, Doe v., 95 (n. 128, 134), 702 Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., 201 (n. 187), 209 Swager v. Board of Education, Unified School District No. 412, 214 (n. 17), 229, 251 (n. 88), 255 Swain v. Hillsborough County School Board, 200 (n. 184), 209 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Edu­ cation, 113(n. 30), 736 Swany v. San Ramon Valley Unified School Dis­ trict, 91 (n. 97), 707 Sweatt v. Painter, 106 (n. 9), 735 Sypniewski v. Warren Hills Regional Board of Education, 50 (n. 8), 58 (n. 43), 72, 73 Syquia v. Board of Education, 224 (n. 96), 237

318

TABLE OF CASES

T

Toyota Motor Manufacturer, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 200 (n. 185), 209 Trachtman v. Anker, 57 (n. 34), 73 Trautvetter v. Quick, 195 (n. 147), 209 Treiber v. Lindbergh School District, 201 (n. 189), 209 Triggs, People v., 186 (n. 89), 205 Trout v. Umatilla County School District, 267 (n. 49), 293 True v. Ladner, 262 (n. 15), 263 (n. 28), 292, 293 Tuttle v. Arlington County School Board, 122 (n. 55), 736 Twigg v. Hercules Corp., 267 (n. 51), 293

T. J. v. State, 87 (n. 80), 100 Tardif v. Quinn, 181 (n. 51), 207 Tarter v. Raybuck, 83 (n. 54), 100 Tasby v. Estes, 93 (n. 114), 101 Taxman v. Board of Education of Piscataway, 190 (n. 113), 208, 226 (n. 112), 232 Taylor Independent School District, Doe v., 132 (n. 106), 138, 286 (n. 147), 287 (n. 158), 289 (n. 172), 295,296 Taylor v. Brentwood Union Free School District, 287 (n. 159), 296 Taylor v. Honig, 155 (n. 59), 167 Taylor v. Phoenixville School District, 202 (n. 196), 209 Teamsters Local 695 v. Vogt, 238 (n. 19), 253 Teresa P. v. Berkeley Unified School District, 162 (n. 94), 167 Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 188 (n. 104), 191 (n. 116), 205 Texas State Teachers' Ass'n v. Garland Inde­ pendent School District, 179 (n. 46), 207, 238 (n. 16), 253 Texas v. Johnson, 50 (n. 4), 72 Texas, United States v., 194 (n. 135), 209 Theodore v. Delaware Valley School District, 89 (n. 88), 100 Thomas v. Bedford, 261 (n. 7), 292 Thomas v. Board of Education, 67 (n. 72), 74 Thomas v. Mahan, 217 (n. 44), 230 Thomas ex rel. Thomas v. Roberts, 88 (n. 84), 700 Thompson v. Carthage School District, 84 (n. 61), 86 (n. 75), 700 Thompson v. Iberville Parish School Board, 95 (n. 126), 707 Thompson v. Waynesboro Area School District, 59 (n. 45), 73 Tilton v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 156 (n. 73), 767 Time, Inc. v., Firestone, 263 (n. 26), 293 Timothy W. v. Rochester School District, 151 (n. 41), 166 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, 53 (n. 22), 73 Tinkham v. Kole, 260 (n. 5), 292 Titus v. Lindberg, 271 (n. 76), 294 Tomkins v. Vickers, 12 Toney v. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, 220 (n. 77), 237 Toure v. Board of Education of New York, 271 (n. 74), 294

U

UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 189 (n. 106), 205 Unified School District No. 501 v. Kansas De­ partment of Human Resources, 243 (n. 38), 254 Union Free School District No. 6 Babylon v. New York State Division on Human Rights, 244 (n. 49), 254 United Federation of Postal Clerks v. Blount, 238 (n. 20), 253 United States v. , see opposing party United States EEOC v. Newport Mesa Unified School District, 204 (n. 210), 277 United States Department of Housing & Urban Development v. Federal Labor Rela­ tions Authority, 188 (n. 103), 205 United Teachers of Seaford v. New York State Human Rights Appeal Board, 244 (n. 50), 254 US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, 202 (n. 195), 209 Uzzell v. Friday, 33 (n. 71), 47 V

Vaca v. Sipes, 246 (n. 57), 254 Valent v. New Jersey State Board of Education, 30 (n. 60), 46 Valeria G. v. Wilson, 163 (n. 97, 99), 765 Van Allen v. McCleary, 267 (n. 53), 293 Vance v. Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co., 133 (n. 114), 735, 196 (n. 158), 209 Vargas-Harrison v. Racine Unified School Dis­ trict, 176 (n. 24), 206 Vermett v. Hough, 195 (n. 141), 209 Veronia School District 47J v. Acton, 88 (n. 86), 700 Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County, 35 (n. 77), 47

TABLE OF CASES

Virginia v. County Board of Arlington County, 234 (n. 1), 253 Virginia, United States v., 125 (n. 61), 137 Vorchheimer v. School District of Philadelphia, 123 (n. 59), 136 W

Wagenblast v. Odessa School District No. 105-157-166J, 276 (n. 102), 294 Walczak v. Florida Union Free School District, 160 (n. 81), 167 Walker v. Bradley, 93 (n. 107), 101 Wallace v. Batavia School District 101, 80 (n. 33), 99 Wallace v. Ford, 78 (n. 17), 99 Wallace v. Jaffree, 24 (n. 33), 46 Walter v. West Virginia Board of Education, 24(n. 34), 46 Walton v. Alexander, 290 (n. 189), 296 Ward v. Rickey, 66 (n. 65), 74 Ward v. K-Mart Corp., 282 (n. 123), 295 Ward v. Newfield Central School District No. 1, 273 (n. 86), 294 Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 52 (n. 21), 73 Ware v. Morgan County School District No. RE-3, 217 (n. 46), 220 (n. 72), 230, 231 Warren v. National Ass'n of Secondary School Principals, 92 (n. 100), 101 Warren v. Pulitzer Publishing Co., 265 (n. 43), 293 Washegesic v. Bloomingdale Public Schools, 22 (n. 22), 45 Washington v. Davis, 109 (n. 16), 136, 194 (n. 131), 209 Washington v. Indiana High School Athletic Ass'n, 144 (n. 21), 166 Washington v. Smith, 93 (n. 110), 101 Waters v. Churchill, 174 (n. 18), 206 Watson v. State Board of Education, 218 (n. 53), 230 Webb v. McCullough, 84 (n. 57), 100 Weber v. Oakridge School District 76, 89 (n. 89), 100 Weeks v. Southern Bell & Telephone Co., 189 (n. 107), 208 Wehmeyer, People v., 95 (n. 126), 101 Weil v. Board of Elementary & Secondary Edu­ cation, 156 (n. 74), 167 Weissman v. Board of Education of Jefferson County School District no. R-l, 216 (n. 31), 230 Weissman v. Mogol, 265 (n. 41), 293 Wellner v. Minnesota State Junior College Board, 223 (n. 86), 237

319 West Fargo Public School District No. 6 of Cass County v. West Fargo Education Ass'n, 245 (n. 52), 254 West Virginia ex rel. Galford v. Mark Anthony B., 87 (n. 81), 100 West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnett, 32 (n. 63), 46 Westbrook v. Teton County School District No. l,176 (n. 26), 206 Western Air Lines v. Criswell, 204 (n. 206), 209 Wethersfield Board of Education v. Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, 244 (n. 43), 254 Wexner v. Anderson Union High School District Board of Trustees, 34 (n. 72), 47 Whaley v. Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District No. 11, 217 (n. 36), 230 White v. Board of Education, 225 (n. 99), 237 White v. Salisbury Township School District, 92 (n. 103), 707 Whittington v. Sowela Technical Institute, 276 (n. 101), 294 Wiley v. Franklin, 25 (n. 36), 46 Wilhelm v. Board of Education of New York, 275 (n. 98), 294 Williams v. Albemarle City Board of Education, 250 (n. 78), 255 Williams v. Ellington, 84 (n. 64), 86 (n. 77), 700 Williams v. School District No. 40 of Gila County, 218 (n. 53), 230 Williams v. School District of Bethlehem, 126 (n. 68), 127 (n. 82), 737, 287 (n. 154), 296 Williams v. Spencer, 59 (n. 44), 73 Williamson v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, 188 (n. 103), 205 Winegar v. Independent Community School Dis­ trict, 223 (n. 89), 237 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Unit of the North Carolina Ass'n of Educators v. Phillips, 23 8 (n. 13), 253 Wisconsin v. Yoder, 198 (n. 168), 209 Wise v. Pea Ridge School District, 95 (n. 123), 707 Wood v. Strickland, 287 (n. 159), 296 Woodard v. Los Fresnos Independent School District, 95 (n. 121), 707 Wooden v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 204 (n. 207), 277 Wooley v. Maynard, 33 (n. 68), 46 Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 28 (n. 51), 46 Wyandanch Union Free School District v. Wyandanch Teachers' Ass'n, 246 (n. 61), 255 Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education, 189 (n. Ill), 205

320 Wyman v. James, 186 (n. 85), 208

Y Yankton School District v. Schramm, 147 (n. 31), 166 Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 105 (n. 5), 135 York v. Alabama State Board of Education, 194 (n. 135), 209 Young v. Montgomery County Board of Educa­ tion, 118 (n. 49), 136 Young v. Southwestern Savings & Loan Ass'n, 199 (n. 174), 209 Young State v., 84 (n. 60), 100

TABLE OF CASES

Youngman v. Doerhoff, 220 (n. 78, 82), 231

z Zablocki v. Redhail, 182 (n. 55), 207 Zamora v. Pomery, 83 (n. 50), 99 Zelno v. Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 Board of Directors, 218 (n. 54), 230 Zorbest v. Catalina Foothills School District, 156 (n. 70), 167 Zucker v. Pantiz, 64 (n. 58), 74 Zweifel v. Joint District No. 1, 164 (n. 107), 168 Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp., 34 (n. 75), 47

INDEX

A Ability grouping, 19, 117, 164, 165

Academic freedom, 17, 18, 23, 176-180, 205,

243

Acceptance, of contract, 251

Actual malice, in defamation, 263

ADA, see Americans with Disabilities Act Adjudication of guilt, student, 89-93

Affirmative action, 118-123, 189-191

Age, classification of students by, 19, 104, 144,

163-164

discrimination in employment, 187, 204-205

Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 204-205

Agency shop (fee), 235, 241-243

AIDS, 30, 31, 142-143, 201-202, 267, see also

Sex education Americans with Disabilities Act, 141-145, 165,

184, 200-201

Appearance, regulation, of student, 50, 78-79, 80

of teacher, 181-182

Appellant, 9

Appellee, 9

Arbitration, grievance, 245-246

interest, 236

Asbestos, 283

Assault, 95, 130, 182, 258-259, 271, 272, 277,

279, 290

Assignment, of students, 115

of teachers, 214, 243

to extra duties, 214

Association, freedom of, 68-71, 171, 185, 238,

241

Assumption of risk, 276-277

Athletics, gender discrimination in, 123, 125-126

Attractive nuisance doctrine, 281

B

Bargaining, see Collective bargaining Battery, 95, 130, 258

Bible, distribution of, 25

readings, 21-24

study of, 25, 29-30

Bilingual education, 160-163, see also Limited English proficiency for students with disabilities, 165

Bilingual Education Act, 147

Bill of Rights, 32, 48, 49, 53, 106, 297

Black English, 163

Blue Book, 14

Board of education, see School board Bona fide occupational qualification, 189

Breach of contract, 250

321

322 Breach of duty, in negligence, 270, 272-273

Buckley Amendment, see Family Education Rights and Privacy Act Busing as segregation remedy, 113, 114, 116, 117

But-for requirement, 273-274

c Case law, 5-6

Categorical aid, 16-17, 19

Causation in fact, 273

Censorship, of books, 34-37, 177

of independent student speech, 65, 66-68

Internet, 11, 36, 45

of school newspapers, 64-65

Certification, teacher, 171, 203, 212, 214

Change of placement for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Dis­ abilities Education Act Charter schools, 16, 146

Child abuse, reporting of, 268-269

Children's rights, 49

Children with disabilities, 139-164, see also Indi­ viduals with Disabilities Education Act bilingual education for, 163

categories of, 141, 146-148

constitutional rights of, 140

history of treatment by schools, 140-141

Christian fundamentalism, 27-29

Christmas, see Holidays Citations, legal, 11-13

Civil rights, 170, see also Equal Protection Clause and specific rights such as Speech, freedom of Civil Rights Act of 1964, 112

Title VI, 37, 58, 126-127, 130-134,

161-162

Title VII, 129, 187-188, 197, 199

Title IX, 127, 129, 131-132

Title XI, 187

Civil Rights Act of 1991, 187

Class size, 244

Classification, of students with disabilities, 141-142,

146-148

of individuals by the government, see also Equal Protection Clause Discrimination, 104-105, 130;

Ability grouping; Age, classification of students by Clear reference, in defamation, 263

Closed shop, 235

Collective bargaining, 233-237, 243-245

fair representation in, 235, 237, 244, 246

INDEX

good faith in, 234, 236, 237, 243, 244-245

history of, 233-234

impasse in, 236, 238

right to, 233-234, 238, 247

scope of, 243

unit, 234-235, see also Unions Commercial speech, 51, 59

Community service requirement, 33

Common law, 4-5

Comparative negligence, 276

Compelled self-publication, 263

Competent party, in contract, 249

Complainant, 9

Conclusions of law, 10

Conditions, in contract, 250

Confinement, as punishment, 94, 96-97, 259

Consent, as a defense in torts, 260

Consideration, in contract, 248

Constitution, state, 2-3

education article of, 3

Constitution, U.S., 2, 169-170, 212, 233,

287-291, 297-299, see also specific

provisions and amendments Constructive discharge, 221

Contingencies, in contract, 250

Continuing education requirement, 213

Contract Clause, 252

Contracts, 5, see also Collective bargaining formation of, 247-249

interpretation of, 250-252

mistakes in, 248

supplemental, 204, 236

teacher, 169, 222, 237, 246-252

unilateral, 236-237

Contributory negligence, 275

Copyright Act, 40-42

Corporal punishment, 94-95

Courts, 5-8

Creationism, 27-29

Criminal law, 257

Cruel and unusual punishment, see Eighth Amendment Curriculum, control of, 16-42, 243

political and cultural perspectives of, 19

teacher speech within, 177-178

D

Damages, in negligence, 279, 275

Defamation, 50, 51, 57-58, 261-266

per se, 262

per quod, 262

standards of fault in, 263

Defendant, 9

323

INDEX

Defense of others, see Privilege of defense of others Defense of privilege, see Privilege, defense of Defenses against negligence, 275

Demotion of teachers, 214

Department of Education, U.S., 4, 127, 145

Desegregation, 112-117

Dicta, 11

Discharge, of contract, 249

Discipline of students, 75-97, 118, 259

with disabilities, 156-159, see also Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Discretionary acts, 284

Discrimination, on the basis of, age, 204-205

ethnicity, 109-111, see also Discrimin­ ation on the basis of race gender, 36, 37, 103, 104, 123-126,

187-188

race, 36, 37, 103, 104-105, 187-188, see

also Segregation religion, 37, 197-199

in curriculum and materials, 36-37

in employment, 187-197

Dismissal of teachers, 181, 237, 239, 246, 250

due process, 213, 214, 215, 221-225

grounds for, 215-220

probationary, 214-215, 222, 223, 224

tenured, 169

Disparate impact, as form of discrimination, 127,

193, 194, 203

Disparate treatment, as form of discrimination, 188-194, 199, 203, 204

covert, 191-192

mixed motive, 193

overt, 188-190

Disposition of a case, 10-11

Distinguishability, 6

Double jeopardy, 97

Dress code, 78-79

Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, 187

Drug testing, see Search, for drugs Due process, 35-36,49, 77, 79, 80-81, 89-96,

98, 109, 130, 169, 178, 268

for students, 89-95, 267

substantive, 95

for teachers, 169, 212-215, 221-226, 228,

236, 238-239, 286-287

Dues check-off, see Agency shop (fee) Duty of care, 270-272

E EAHCA, see Individuals with Disabilities Educa­ tion Act

Education Amendments of 1972, see Title IX

Education of All Handicapped Children Act, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Education of the Handicapped Act, see Individ­ uals with Disabilities Education Act EEOA, see Equal Educational Opportunity Act EEOC, see Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EHA, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Eighth Amendment, 94-95, 298

English as a second language, see Limited Eng­ lish proficiency Equal Access Act, 42-43, 69

Equal Educational Opportunity Act, 161-162

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 188

Equal Pay Act, 194

Equal Protection Clause, 36-37, 96-97, 104-107,

118, 120-123, 129-130, 139-140, 161,

164-165, 170, 171, 187, 189, 190, 191,

194, 204, 206, 298

history of, 105-107

Equality of educational opportunity, 103, 139

Equity, 103, see also Equal Protection Clause Establishment Clause, 21-31, 59, 69, 153, 156,

194, 197, 198, 205, 297, see also Reli­

gion, freedom of; Lemon test Evaluation, teacher, 214-215, 220, 244

Evolution, 27-29

Exclusionary rule, 84

Expression, freedom of, see Speech, freedom of Expulsion of students, see Suspension of students Extracurricular activities, exclusion from, 79, 88

F

Fact-finding, 236

Facts of a case, 9

False imprisonment, 259

Family and Medical Leave Act, 183

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 267-268

FAPE, see Free appropriate public education for students with disabilities Fifth Amendment, 81-89, 97, 185, 298

Fighting words, 50, 51, 52, 58, 72

Findings, 10

Firing, see Dismissal of teachers First Amendment, 50 185, 237, 297, see also As­

sociation, freedom of; Establishment Clause; Religion, freedom of; Speech, freedom of Force, use of to control students, 80-81

Foreseeability, in negligence, 272, 279

324 Fourteenth Amendment, 35-36, 48, 49, 298, see

also Due process; Equal Protection Clause history of, 105-107

Fourth Amendment, 80, 82-88, 94 185-186,

297-298, see also Search Free appropriate public education for students with disabilities, 146, 149, see also

Individuals with Disabilities Educa­ tion Act Free exercise of religion, see Religion, freedom of Freedom of association, see Association, freedom of Freedom of choice, as segregation remedy, 104,

112

Freedom of expression, see Speech, freedom of Freedom of religion, see Religion, freedom of Freedom of speech, see Speech, freedom of Fringe benefits, 243

G Gifted students, 163-164

Government officer immunity, see Immunity from tort liability Governmental acts, 284

Governmental immunity, see Immunity from tort liability Graduation requirements, 18

Grievance procedures, see Arbitration, grievance Gun Free Schools Act, 96

H

Hair, regulation of, student, 50, 78-79

teacher, 181

Handicapped children, see Children with dis­ abilities Harassment, racial and sexual, of students, 126-134

by peers, 130-131

by teachers, 130-131

of teachers, 195-197

Hatch Amendment, 43-44

Hate speech, 58, 80

Hearings, disciplinary, see also Due process, for students, 89-93

for teachers, 215, 222-225

Heckler's veto, 52, 56

Hiring of teachers, 212-213

Holdings, 10-11

Holidays, 25-27

Home schooling, 146

INDEX

Homosexuality of teachers, 182-183, 219

Hostile environment, see Harassment, racial and sexual I

IDEA, see Individuals with Disabilities Educa­ tion Act IEP, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, individualized education program Immorality as grounds for dismissal, 182,

217-218,219 Immunity from tort liability, 257-258, 264-265,

284-285

Impasse in collective bargaining, see Collective bargaining, impasse in Impossibility of performance, of contract, 250

Impracticality, in contract, 250

In loco parentis, 48, 49

Incapacity as grounds for dismissal, 217

Inclusion, see Individuals with Disabilities Educa­ tion Act, least restrictive environment Incompetence as grounds for dismissal, 216-217,

221

Indemnity, from tort liability, 285-286

Individualized education program for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, individual­ ized education program Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 4, 140-141, 146-160

appropriate education, 149-152

assistive technology, 148, 152

behavioral interventions, 149

change of placement, 156-159

definition and classification of disability, 146-148

discipline, 156-159

interim alternative educational setting, 158-159

dispute resolution, 159-160

evaluation, 146-148

individualized education program, 148-149

least restrictive environment, 153-154

medical services, 152, 153

placement, 153-154

private schools, 155-156

related services, 146, 148, 152-153

residential placements, 154-155

special education, 141, 146, 147, 148, 149,

151, 152, 153, 155, 157, 159, 160

stay-put requirement, 156

transition services, 149

transportation, 142, 149, 152, 153, 156

Injury, in negligence, 270, 275

325

INDEX

Instructional methods, 18

Insubordination as grounds for dismissal, 217

Integrated agreement, contract as, 252

Intent, to discriminate, 109-111, 187-194

in torts, 258

Intentional infliction of mental distress, 259

Intentional interference with prospective contrac­ tual relations, 265

Intentional torts, see Torts, intentional Internet, 36

Intervening causes, in negligence, 274

Invasion of privacy, see Privacy, invasion of Investigation of student misconduct, 81-89, see also Search Invitee, 281-282

IQ testing, 118, 147, 148

Issues of a case, 10

J

Judiciary, 6-9, see also Courts Jurisdiction, of federal courts, 6-8

of state courts, 8

L Law guidelines, 163

Law, forms of, 1-5

Learning disabilities, see Individuals with Dis­ abilities Education Act Least restrictive environment for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, least re­ strictive environment Leave of absence, 172, 226

Legal benefit, 248-249

Legal cause, 270, 273-275

Legal detriment, 248

Legal subject matter, in contract, 248-249

Lemon test, 22, see also Establishment Clause Liability for dangerous buildings and grounds, 280-283

Libel, 261, see also Defamation Liberty interest, for due process, 78, 90-91

Licensee, 281

Limited English proficiency, 139, 160-163

Limited open forum, 42, see also Public forum, for speech Liquidated damages, 250

Lockers, searches of, see Search, of lockers Loss of consortium, 259

Loyalty oaths, 170

M

Magnet schools, as segregation remedy, 115

Mainstreaming students with disabilities, see In­ dividuals with Disabilities Education Act, least restrictive environment Major life activity, under Rehabilitation Act, 141,

142

Malpractice, educational, 283

Manifestation of mutual assent, 247-248

Maternity leave, 226

McDonnell-Douglas framework, 191, 193, 199,

203

Mediation, 236

Meet and confer, 234, 240 see also Collective

bargaining Mental retardation, see Individuals with Disabil­ ities Education Act Middle level test in equal protection cases, 120-123, 126

Minimum competency exam, 118, 144

Ministerial acts, 284

Miranda rights, 81-82

Mitigation of damages, 250

Moment of silence, 24-25

Music, religious, 25-27

N

National Teacher's Exam, 175

Negligence, 269-277

in defamation, 263

Negligent hiring, 277-280

Negotiable issues, see Collective bargaining, scope of Negotiations, see Collective bargaining Newspa­ pers, school student initiated, 59-61

No Child Left Behind, curriculum, 37—40 equal educational opportunity, 117

student discipline, 75

teacher employment, 213

use of school facilities and freedom of association, 70

Notice of claim statutes, 285

O

Obscenity, 50-51, 58

Off-campus behavior of students, 68, 78, 79, 98

Offensive speech, 58, 59-61, 178, see also Hate

speech Offer, of contract, 248

Office of Civil Rights, 161-162

326 Opinions, judicial, 8

elements of, 9-11

Overbreadth of rules, 79

p Parol evidence, 252

Pattern or practice, as form of discrimination, 193-194

PERB, see Public Employment Relations Board Petitioner, 9

Picketing, 233, 238

Plain view doctrine, 82, 86

Plaintiff, 9

Pledge of Allegiance, 32-33, 53,177-178 Political rights of teachers, 170-176

Prayer in school, 21-24

Precedents, 6

Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 187-188

Pregnancy leave, 226

Premises liability, 280-283

Prior review of publications, 61-62

Privacy, invasion of, 63, 266-269

right of, 57, 83-84, 180-187

student expectation of, 82, see also Search of student records, 267-268

Privilege, defense of, in defamation, 264

in torts, 259-261

of defense of others, 260-261

of discipline, 260

fair report, 265

of self-defense, 260-261

Probable cause for searches, 86, see also Search Probationary teachers, evaluation and nonre­ newal, 214-215

Procedural due process, see Due process Property interest, for due process, 96

Proprietary acts, 284

Proximate cause, 273

Public concern, speech on matters of, 170-172

Public Employment Relations Board, 235

Public forum, for speech, 52, 60, 63, 65, 238,

240-241, 242-243

Publication, in defamation, 262

Punishment for student misconduct, 93-97

academic penalties as, 94-97

Pupil classification, 19

Q Quid pro quo, see Harassment, racial and sexual

INDEX

R Racial harassment, see Harassment, racial and sexual Rational basis, as equal protection test, 107, 108,

123

Reasonable accommodations of disability, student, 142-143

teacher, 200-204

Reasonable and prudent person standard, 270

Reasonable cause for searches, 85, 86

Records of students, 267-268

Reduction in force, 225-226, 244

References, 263

Regulations, 4

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 140-145, 146, 184,

200-204

grievance procedures, 145

Related services for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Religion, freedom of, 22, 23, 27-30, 40, 44,

59-60, 65, 69, 70, 78, 297, see also

Separation of church and state of teachers, 170, 197-199

Religious schools, see Private schools Religious speech, 59-60

Reporters, of court decisions, 11-13

Residency requirements for teachers, 213

Residential placement of students with disabili­ ties, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Respondeat superior, 277, 278-279

Respondent, 9

Retaliatory discharge, 192-193

Reversing of groups test, 110

RHA, see Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Right not to speak, 32-33

Right to education, 90

Right to hear, 33-36

Right-to-work laws, 235

Role model, teacher as, 217-218

Rules of student conduct, 76-80

Rulings, 10-11

s Safe Schools Act, 76

Salary, 115, 243, 244, 247

School board, 5, 19-20, 34-36, 76-77, 171, 225,

226, 234, 240, 247

School facilities, use of, by outside groups, 69-71

by students, 68-69, see also Equal Access Act Search, 81-89

327

INDEX

definition of, 80

by dogs, 82, 83

for drugs, 82, 83, 85, 86-89, 186-187

grounds for, 86-88

of lockers, 82-83

on school trips, 84

strip, 86, 87, 88

of teachers, 185-187

voluntary consent to, 83-84

for weapons, 84, 86

Section 504, see Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 1983, 76, 286-291

damages, 290-291

liability of school districts, 289-290

liability of school officials, 287-288

liability of supervisors, 288-289

Section 1985, 268

Section 1986, 268

Secular humanism, 29-30

Segregation, by gender, 123-126, see also Discrimination on the basis of gender in sports, 123, 129-129

Segregation, by race, 104-105, 108-118, see also

Discrimination on the basis of race de facto, 109, 111

dejure, 109, 112

remedies for, 112-117

Self-defense, see Privilege of self-defense Separate but equal, 105-107

Separation of church and state, 20-30, see also Establishment Clause; Religion, free­ dom of Sex education, 20, 30-31

Sexual behavior of teachers, 182-183,

218-220

Sexual harassment, see Harassment, racial and sexual Sick leave, 243

Slander, 261, see also Defamation Snow, 282

Sovereign immunity, see also Immunity from tort liability, 284

Special education, see Individuals with Disabil­ ities Education Act Speech, categories of, 50-51

curricular, of teachers, 176-180

definition of, 50

freedom of, 49-52, 72, 297

arguments for, 49

of students, 32-33, 49-68

of teachers, 170-187, 238

off-campus, of students, 68

political, of teachers, 170-176

regulation of, 53-55, see also Tinker test

school-sponsored of students 62-67

of teachers, 176-180

Standard of care, 270-272

Standing, 6

State, power of, 2-4, 16

Statute of limitations, 285

Statutes, 3-4

Stay-put requirement for students with disabili­ ties, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Strict scrutiny as equal protection test, 105, 106,

111, 120, 121

Strike, 233, 238-239, 242

Strip searches, see Search, strip Students' rights, 48-49, see also specific rights such as Speech, freedom of Substantial relation as equal protection test, 123-126

Supplemental contracts, see Contracts, teacher, supplemental Supreme Court, 7-8

Suspension of students, 90-93, see also Individ­ uals with Disabilities Education Act, discipline long-term, 93, 95

short-term, 90-92

Symbolic speech, of students, 53-54

of teachers, 181

T

Teacher employment, 212-228

eligibility for, 212-213

Teachers' rights, see also specific rights, 169-206

Teachers with disabilities, 200-204

Tenth Amendment, 2, 16, 298

Tenure, 169, 213, 214-215, 243

Testing of teachers, 186-187, 193

Textbooks, 17-18, 19, 34-35

Tinker test, 53-58, 62-63, 64, 67, 187

Title VI, see Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII, see Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972, 58,

125, 126-128, 127-129

Torts, 5, 257-291, see also specific torts such as Negligence intentional, 258, 259

Tracking, see Ability grouping Transfer, of students 116, 118

of teachers, 176, 182, 187, 195, 214, 223,

225, 234, 237, 243

328 Transition services for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Disabilities Edu­ cation Act Transportation for students with disabilities, see Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Trespasser, 280-281

U

Unfair labor practices, 237

Unfitness as grounds for dismissal, 217-218

Unilateral contract, 236-237

Union shop, 235

Unions, teacher, 233-252, see also Collective bargaining right to join, 235, 237, 238

rights, of members, 237-239

INDEX

of nonmembers, 240-243

security, 235

Unitary school district, 116-117

Unprofessional conduct, as grounds for dismissal, 217

V

Vagueness of rules, 79-80, 176

Vicarious liability, 196, 278-279

of parents, 279-280

W Waiver, of tort liability, 276

Websites, school control of student, 36, see also Internet Whistleblower statutes, 176

Workers' compensation, 226-228